Achieving continuously tunable critical exponents for long-range spin systems simulated with trapped ions

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that in long-range spin systems simulated with trapped ions, critical exponents can be continuously tuned by adjusting experimental parameters, revealing new ways to explore critical phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a method to continuously vary critical exponents in long-range spin systems using ion trap experiments, expanding the understanding of universality classes.

Findings

Critical exponents can be tuned via laser detuning.

Simulated systems mimic critical phenomena in non-integer dimensions.

Experimental setup allows exploration of continuous universality classes.

Abstract

Quantum phase transitions are usually classified into discrete universality classes that typically only depend on symmetries and spatial dimensionalities. In this Letter, we demonstrate an opportunity to continuously vary the critical exponents or universalities by tuning experimental parameters in a given physical system. Particularly, we show that critical exponents in long-range spin systems simulated in ion traps can be easily tuned with laser detuning. We suggest that such experiments also effectively simulate some aspects of critical phenomena in conventional spin systems but in artificial non-integer spatial dimensions.