Mobile bound states of Rydberg excitations in a lattice

Abstract

Spin lattice models play central role in the studies of quantum magnetism and non-equilibrium dynamics of spin excitations -- magnons. We show that a spin lattice with strong nearest-neighbor interactions and tunable long-range hopping of excitations can be realized by a regular array of laser driven atoms, with an excited Rydberg state representing the spin-up state and a Rydberg-dressed ground state corresponding to the spin-down state. We find exotic interaction-bound states of magnons that propagate in the lattice via the combination of resonant two-site hopping and non-resonant second-order hopping processes. Arrays of trapped Rydberg-dressed atoms can thus serve as a flexible platform to simulate and study fundamental few-body dynamics in spin lattices.