Exploring of critical phenomena with a Cs Rydberg simulator

Phase transitions and critical phenomena are subjects of active studies in statistical physics from both theoretical and experimental perspectives. Conformal field theory (CFT) describes systems that are invariant under conformal transformations. It captures low-energy physics that plays the dominant role at the critical point. We use neutral atom arrays in optical tweezers to explore CFTs via analog quantum simulation. The Hamiltonian of this system supports an Ising Z2 phase transition. The critical point can be described by an Ising CFT. In our experiment, we prepare Cs atoms into a ring geometry to incorporate periodic boundary conditions. By precisely tuning the simulator to criticality, we directly measure critical correlations of primary CFT fields to read off their scaling dimensions. This study could help improve our understanding of CFT fixed point theories and at the same time, offer valuable insights into benchmarking quantum simulators.