Kinetically-induced bound states in a frustrated Rydberg tweezer array

Abstract

Understanding how particles bind into composite objects is a ubiquitous theme in physics, from the formation of molecules to hadrons in quantum chromodynamics and the pairing of charge carriers in superconductors. The formation of bound states usually originates from attractive interactions between particles. However, the binding can also arise purely from the motion of dopants due to kinetic frustration, which is potentially related to unconventional pairing in moir\'e materials. Here, we report the first direct observation of kinetically-induced bound states between holes and magnons using a Rydberg atom array quantum simulator of the bosonic $t$-$J$ model in frustrated ladders and 2D lattices. First, we demonstrate the formation of mobile one-hole-one-magnon bound states. We then construct three-particle one-hole-two-magnon bound states and reveal the underlying binding mechanism by observing kinetically-induced singlet correlations. Finally, we investigate how mobile dopants structure their magnetic environment in a spin-balanced 2D triangular lattice, showing that a hole induces $120^\circ$ antiferromagnetic order, while a doublon dopant generates in-plane ferromagnetic correlations. Our results demonstrates compelling evidence of kinetically-induced binding, opening a new avenue to understand novel pairing mechanisms in correlated quantum materials like superconductors in moir\'e superlattices.