A Dipolar Rydberg Atom Array for Many-Body Quantum Simulation

Neutral atoms interacting via Rydberg states in optical tweezer arrays have emerged as a powerful platform for many-body quantum simulation due to their programmability and scalability. By encoding effective spins in two Rydberg states of opposite parity, long-range dipolar interactions can be engineered, enabling the realization of dipolar quantum magnets. A central challenge in preparing and probing the physics of these magnets is their strong sensitivity to positional disorder in frustrated geometries, which is further exacerbated by the anti-trapping nature of Rydberg electrons in optical tweezers. In addition, scalable local control for adiabatic state preparation and for measurement of multi-spin and multi-basis observables requires a power-efficient method to light-shift the Rydberg states. Here we report a new Yb Rydberg tweezer array platform constructed to address these challenges, by exploiting the strongly coupled optical ion-core transitions in the alkaline-earth-like atomic structure of Yb. We present progress towards realizing controlled dipolar interactions in trapped Rydberg dipole arrays of more than a thousand atoms. This work paves the way towards exploring exotic many-body phases with increased system size, minimized positional disorder and prolonged coherence time.