Fig. 4: The structure factor S(k) for different system sizes.

a–c Experimental measurements of S(k) are taken along the Δ/Ω = 3.5 line, as labeled by the black line in Fig. 1b, for system sizes L = 21, 33, 45. The data points cover R_b/a values ranging from 2.1 to 2.8 with a step size of 0.05. The magenta curves represent the peak positions of S(k) obtained from numerical calculations. The experimental data show that the number of peak plateaus allowed in the quantum floating phase increases with system sizes. d Numerical results for L = 141 demonstrate a continuous change in the wave vector of the quantum floating phase in the large L limit.