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Entanglement structure across Zn phase transitions in one-dimensional Rydberg atom arrays

Hyeonjun Yeo1, Kabgyun Jeong2, and Hyunchul Nha3,*

  • *Contact author: phylove00@gmail.com
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033371 – Published 28 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8zrf-chts

Abstract

Multipartite quantum entanglement plays a crucial role in the emergence of quantum phases and their transitions in quantum many-body systems. It is of general interest to know what sort of analysis on quantum entanglement can bring us a profound insight to understand the rich dynamics of quantum many-body systems. In this work, we study the characteristics of quantum entanglement in relation to Zn-ordered phases emerging under a varied strength of one-dimensional Rydberg interaction via numerical investigation. We propose an approach based on the structure of pairwise entanglement across the Rydberg chain using two-qubit concurrence as an entanglement measure. We define an entanglement-structure factor via Fourier analysis of total concurrence at each site and address Zn phase transitions in comparison with the conventional order parameter based on local density, i.e., magnetization. We also discuss how the required two-qubit concurrence can be measured in analog Rydberg atom arrays using site-selective erasure and parametrized laser pulses. Our numerical investigation suggests that an entanglement-structure-based approach can provide a powerful tool in analyzing symmetry breaking in quantum phase transitions.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033371– Published 28 September, 2026
  • Received 27 June 2026
  • Accepted 18 August 2026
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