Time Crystals Multiply

American Physical Society Synopsis   May 1, 2018 A time crystal is a collection of objects that spontaneously form a pattern in time. A discrete time crystal (DTC) is a robust phase of driven systems that breaks the discrete time translation symmetry of the driving Hamiltonian. Recent experiments have observed DTC signatures in two distinct systems. Researchers at Yale University show nuclear magnetic resonance observations of DTC signatures in a third, strikingly different system: an ordered spatial crystal. They use a novel DTC echo experiment to probe the coherence of the driven system. They show that interactions during the pulse of […]