Lee--Yang zeros in the age of Rydberg atoms

Chengshu Li, Fan Yang

Published 2022-03-30Version 1

Lee--Yang (LY) zeros play a fundamental role in the formulation of statistical physics in terms of (grand) partition functions, and assume theoretical significance for the phenomenon of phase transitions. In this paper, motivated by recent progress in cold Rydberg atom experiments, we explore the LY zeros in classical Rydberg blockade models. We prove that all the LY zeros are real for such models with arbitrary blockade radii, and show how the zeros redistribute as one interpolates between nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor blockade. We also discuss possible experimental measurements of these zeros.