A time crystal that spontaneously breaks time translation symmetry has been realized for the first time by researchers from the Institute of Laser physics. The study was published in the journal Science.
The idea of a time crystal goes back to the first person to propose it. The time translation symmetry of the system is broken when a time crystal is formed like water spontaneously turning into ice.
Floquet time crystals have been observed in closed quantum systems. The continuous-time translation symmetry is broken by a time-periodic drive. The challenge for us was to create a system that breaks the symmetry.
A Bose-Einstein condensate is being used.
Scientists used a Bose-Einstein condensate in their experiment. They used a time-independent pump to observe a limit cycle phase which is characterized by periodic changes in the photon number and atomic density.
Random values between 0 and 2 are what the time phase of the oscillations takes.
More information: Phatthamon Kongkhambut et al, Observation of a continuous time crystal, Science (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abo3382 Journal information: Science
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