Tricritical Kibble-Zurek scaling in Rydberg atom ladders.

ABSTRACT: The Kibble-Zurek (KZ) mechanism has been extensively studied in various second-order phase transitions, yet the case of tricriticality-the point where second-order phase transition lines terminate-remains experimentally elusive. Here, we theoretically propose probing KZ scaling at tricritical points using Rydberg atom arrays arranged as two- and three-leg ladders, which realize the tricritical Ising and tricritical Potts universality classes. By slowly ramping the Rabi frequency and detuning, we extract two relevant tricritical exponents, ν and ν', both via conventional paths from the disordered to the ordered phase and via "tangential" paths confined entirely within the disordered phase. At faster speeds, ramping dynamics go beyond the standard KZ paradigm: data collapse analysis using th

SUBMITTER: Wang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12658029 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature