A superfluid-droplet crystal and a free-space supersolid in a dipole-blockaded gas

TL;DR

This paper predicts a new supersolid phase in a dipole-blockaded Rydberg gas, featuring a crystal of superfluid droplets with bulk superfluidity enabled by particle tunneling, expanding understanding of quantum phases in such systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel supersolid phase characterized by a crystal of superfluid droplets in a dipole-blockaded gas, analyzed through exact numerical methods.

Findings

Identification of a crystal of mesoscopic superfluid droplets

Observation of phase coherence and bulk superfluidity via tunneling

Mapping of the low temperature phase diagram of the system

Abstract

A novel supersolid phase is predicted for an ensemble of Rydberg atoms in the dipole-blockade regime, interacting via a repulsive dipolar potential "softened" at short distances. Using exact numerical techniques, we study the low temperature phase diagram of this system, and observe an intriguing phase consisting of a crystal of mesoscopic superfluid droplets. At low temperature, phase coherence throughout the whole system, and the ensuing bulk superfluidity, are established through tunnelling of identical particles between neighbouring droplets.