Controlling many-body dynamics with driven quantum scars in Rydberg atom arrays

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how periodic driving can stabilize quantum many-body scars in Rydberg atom arrays, leading to robust subharmonic responses and offering new methods to control entanglement in many-body quantum systems.

Contribution

It introduces a method to stabilize quantum many-body scars via periodic driving in Rydberg atom arrays, revealing new control over non-equilibrium dynamics.

Findings

Observation of coherent revivals linked to quantum scars

Stabilization of scar revivals through periodic driving

Mapping of Hilbert space dynamics and phase diagrams

Abstract

Controlling non-equilibrium quantum dynamics in many-body systems is an outstanding challenge as interactions typically lead to thermalization and a chaotic spreading throughout Hilbert space. We experimentally investigate non-equilibrium dynamics following rapid quenches in a many-body system composed of 3 to 200 strongly interacting qubits in one and two spatial dimensions. Using a programmable quantum simulator based on Rydberg atom arrays, we probe coherent revivals corresponding to quantum many-body scars. Remarkably, we discover that scar revivals can be stabilized by periodic driving, which generates a robust subharmonic response akin to discrete time-crystalline order. We map Hilbert space dynamics, geometry dependence, phase diagrams, and system-size dependence of this emergent phenomenon, demonstrating novel ways to steer entanglement dynamics in many-body systems and enabling potential applications in quantum information science.