Dynamics of string breaking and revival in a Rydberg atomic chain

Abstract

String breaking is one of the most representative non-perturbative dynamics processes in confinement theory, typically associated with the creation of particle-antiparticle pairs. In this paper, we take a one-dimensional Rydberg atomic chain to theoretically study the dynamical of finite-length string state. Under different string tension conditions, we find that the string dynamics exhibits two clearly distinguishable evolution characteristics: one is that the string breaks and the system enters a superposition state space containing multiple meson state configurations; the other is localized string dynamics, in which the string undergoes local breaking but can then recombine and return to a state close to the initial structure, with the breaking and recombination processes recurring over a long time scale. Through the analysis of the evolution of different meson state configurations, we visually depict the redistribution of configuration weights during the string breaking process, and reveal the observable recovery characteristics of the string after breaking. Further analysis shows that the enhancement of quantum fluctuations can increase the weight of the double-meson state configurations in the system wave function without changing the dominant dynamical behavior. The above results present a rich picture of string breaking dynamics in a one-dimensional Rydberg atomic chain and provide insights for studying confinement physics and related gauge field theory phenomena on quantum simulation platforms.