Transverse-Field Ising Dynamics in a Rydberg-Dressed Atomic Gas

Abstract: We report on the realization of long-range Ising interactions in a cold gas of cesium atoms by Rydberg dressing. The interactions are enhanced by coupling to Rydberg states in the vicinity of a F\"{o}rster resonance. We characterize the interactions by measuring the mean-field shift of the clock transition via Ramsey spectroscopy, observing one-axis twisting dynamics. We furthermore emulate a transverse-field Ising model by periodic application of a microwave field and detect dynamical signatures of the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition. Our results highlight the power of optical addressing for achieving local and dynamical control of interactions, enabling prospects ranging from investigating Floquet quantum criticality to producing tunable-range spin squeezing.