Boundary-induced geometrical frustration in a square Rydberg-atom lattice

Abstract

We study geometric defects in square-lattice Rydberg-atom arrays induced by lattice-size parity in the striated density-wave phase. While odd-sized lattices select a single striated domain, even-sized lattices seed incompatible domains at the four corners, resulting in a π/2-rotation invariant state with a geometrical defect emanating from the lattice center. At larger detunings, we instead identify a π-rotation-invariant state with two domains nucleated by opposite corners and separated by a one-dimensional diagonal defect. We probe the state-preparation protocol on the Aquila atomic quantum processor and benchmark it with equilibrium and real-time dynamics tensor-network simulations. Our results assess the role of boundaries and lattice size in determining the global ordering in programmable quantum matter.