Science Daily September 27, 2021
It was thought that the properties of prethermal discrete time crystals (DTCs) were reliant on quantum physics. An international team of researchers (UK, Germany) found that a simpler approach, based on classical physics can be used to understand these mysterious phenomena. Using a computer simulation they studied many interacting spins under the action of a periodic magnetic field using classical Hamiltonian dynamics. The resulting dynamics showed in a neat and clear way the properties of prethermal DTCs: for a long time, the magnetization of the system oscillates with a period larger than that of the drive. Because it allowed them to look at larger systems, they could see clearly what was going on. Understanding these new phases of matter is a step forward towards the control of complex many-body systems with various potential applications, such as simulations of complex quantum networks…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE 1 , 2
Prethermal discrete time crystals. Credit: Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 140602, 27 September 2021