Observation of a space-time crystal in a superfluid quantum gas

Abstract

Time crystals are a phase of matter, for which the discrete time symmetry of the driving Hamiltonian is spontaneously broken. The breaking of discrete time symmetry has been observed in several experiments in driven spin systems. Here, we show the observation of a space-time crystal using ultra-cold atoms, where the periodic structure in both space and time are directly visible in the experimental images. The underlying physics in our superfluid can be described ab initio and allows for a clear identification of the mechanism that causes the spontaneous symmetry breaking. Our results pave the way for the usage of space-time crystals for the discovery of novel nonequilibrium phases of matter.

10 pages, 7 figures, article submission including Supplementary Materials

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Cited by in corpus (123)

• Discrete Time Crystals
• Observation of a dissipative time crystal
• Observation of a prethermal discrete time crystal
• Observation of a continuous time crystal
• Observation of a many-body-localized discrete time crystal with a programmable spin-based quantum simulator
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• Exact solution of a boundary time-crystal phase transition: time-translation symmetry breaking and non-Markovian dynamics of correlations
• Quantum metrology with boundary time crystals
• Time crystals in a shaken atom-cavity system
• Real space observation of magnon interaction with driven space-time crystals
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• Condensed Matter Physics in Time Crystals
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• Observation of a critical prethermal discrete time crystal created by two-frequency driving
• Measurement Induced Continuous Time Crystals
• Spontaneous Formation of Star-Shaped Surface Patterns in a Driven Bose-Einstein Condensate
• Optically trapped polariton condensates as semiclassical time crystals
• Measuring Arbitrary Physical Properties in Analog Quantum Simulation
• Simulating complex quantum networks with time crystals
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• Discrete time crystal in a finite chain of Rydberg atoms without disorder
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• Absolutely Stable Spatiotemporal Order in Noisy Quantum Systems
• Creating big time crystals with ultracold atoms
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• Tunable space-time crystal in room-temperature magnetodielectrics
• Dynamical phase transitions in quantum spin models with antiferromagnetic long-range interactions
• Signatures of discrete time-crystallinity in transport through an open Fermionic chain
• Photonic Floquet time crystals
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• Torsion in quantum field theory through time-loops on Dirac materials
• Dynamics of a Space-Time Crystal in an Atomic Bose-Einstein Condensate
• Unconventional critical exponents at dynamical quantum phase transitions in a random Ising chain
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• Critical properties of the Floquet time crystal within the Gaussian approximation
• Bridging closed and dissipative discrete time crystals in spin systems with infinite-range interactions
• Floquet theory for temporal correlations and spectra in time-periodic open quantum systems: Application to squeezed parametric oscillation beyond the rotating-wave approximation
• Space-time crystalline order of a high-critical-temperature superconductor with intrinsic Josephson junctions
• Time-crystalline Topological Superconductors
• Time Crystal in a Single-mode Nonlinear Cavity
• Observation of a phase transition from a continuous to a discrete time crystal
• Simulation of many body localization and time crystals in two dimensions with the neighborhood tensor update
• Torsion at different scales: from materials to the Universe
• Observation of supersolid-like sound modes in a driven quantum gas
• Bose-Hubbard realization of fracton defects
• Spontaneous symmetry breaking in a driven-dissipative system
• Quantum aging and dynamical universality in the long-range $O(N\to \infty )$ model
• Exploring nonlinear dynamics in periodically driven time crystal: from synchronized to chaotic motion
• On the long-term stability of space-time crystals
• Controlled preparation of phases in two-dimensional time crystals
• Observation of pattern stabilization in a driven superfluid
• Inseparable time-crystal geometries on the Möbius strip
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• Faraday waves on a bubble Bose-Einstein condensed binary mixture
• Provenance of classical Hamiltonian time crystals
• Anderson Molecules
• Liquid Time Crystals
• Space-time symmetry breaking in nonequilibrium frustrated magnetism
• Theory of parametric resonance for discrete time crystals in fully-connected spin-cavity systems
• Interaction quench of dipolar bosons in a one-dimensional optical lattice
• Observation of period doubling and higher multiplicities in a driven single-spin system
• Classical and quantum time crystals in a levitated nanoparticle without drive
• Non-trivial time crystal-like ground state for gravitational perturbation in quadratic gravity
• Time-crystalline behavior in central-spin models with Heisenberg interactions
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• Swapping Floquet time crystal
• Prolonging a discrete time crystal by quantum-classical feedback
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• A Solvable Model for Discrete Time Crystal Enforced by Nonsymmorphic Dynamical Symmetry
• A metronome spin stabilizes time-crystalline dynamics
• Fragility to quantum fluctuations of classical Hamiltonian period doubling
• Quantum metamorphism
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• Spatial and Temporal Periodic Density Patterns in Driven Bose-Einstein Condensates
• Time Crystals from single-molecule magnet arrays
• The Sub-Exponential Critical Slowing Down at Floquet Time Crystal Phase Transition
• Time crystal optomechanics
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• Critical behavior of a programmable time-crystal lattice gas
• Realization of Two-dimensional Discrete Time Crystals with Anisotropic Heisenberg Coupling
• Time-loops to spot torsion on bidimensional Dirac materials with dislocations
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• Seeding crystallization in time
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• Dynamical Tipping in a Quantum Limit Cycle
• Discrete time crystal for periodic-field sensing with quantum-enhanced precision
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• Dynamics of spontaneous symmetry breaking in a space-time crystal
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• Towards Timetronics with Photonic Systems