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Deconfined Quantum Criticality on a Triangular Rydberg Array

Lisa Bombieri1,2,*, Torsten V. Zache1,2, Gabriele Calliari1,2, Mikhail D. Lukin3, Hannes Pichler1,2, and Daniel González-Cuadra1,2,3,4,†

  • *Contact author: lisa.bombieri@uibk.ac.at
  • †Contact author: daniel.gonzalez@ift.csic.es
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 233602 – Published 4 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/4rg4-zbnn

Abstract

Fluctuations can drive continuous phase transitions between two distinct ordered phases—so-called deconfined quantum critical points (DQCPs)—which lie beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm. Despite several theoretical predictions over the past decades, experimental evidence of DQCPs remains elusive. We show that a DQCP can be explored in a system of Rydberg atoms arranged on a triangular lattice and coupled through van der Waals interactions. Specifically, we investigate the nature of the phase transition between two ordered phases at 1/3 and 2/3 Rydberg excitation density, which were recently probed experimentally in [Scholl et al., Quantum simulation of 2D antiferromagnets with hundreds of Rydberg atoms, Nature (London) 595, 233 (2021).]. Using a field-theoretical analysis, we predict both the critical exponents for infinitely long cylinders of increasing circumference and the emergence of a conformal field theory near criticality showing an enlarged U(1) symmetry—a signature of DQCPs—and confirm these predictions numerically. Finally, we extend these results to ladder geometries and show how the emergent U(1) symmetry could be probed experimentally using finite tweezer arrays.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 233602– Published 4 December, 2025
  • Received 13 August 2025
  • Revised 9 October 2025
  • Accepted 10 November 2025
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