Controlled flow of excitations in a ring-shaped network of Rydberg atoms

Abstract

Highly excited Rydberg atoms are a powerful platform for quantum simulation and information processing. Here, we propose atomic ring networks to study chiral currents of Rydberg excitations. The currents are controlled by a phase pattern imprinted via a Raman scheme and can persist even in the presence of dephasing. Depending on the interplay between the Rabi coupling of Rydberg states and the dipole-dipole atom interaction, the current shows markedly different features. The excitations propagate with a velocity displaying a characteristic peak in time, reflecting the chiral nature of the current. We find that the time-averaged current in a quench behaves similarly to the ground-state current. This analysis paves the way for the development of new methods to transport information in atomic networks.