Observation of a phase transition from a continuous to a discrete time crystal

Abstract

Discrete (DTCs) and continuous time crystals (CTCs) are novel dynamical many-body states, that are characterized by robust self-sustained oscillations, emerging via spontaneous breaking of discrete or continuous time translation symmetry. DTCs are periodically driven systems that oscillate with a subharmonic of the external drive, while CTCs are continuously driven and oscillate with a frequency intrinsic to the system. Here, we explore a phase transition from a continuous time crystal to a discrete time crystal. A CTC with a characteristic oscillation frequency ${\omega }_{\mathrm{CTC}}$ is prepared in a continuously pumped atom-cavity system. Modulating the pump intensity of the CTC with a frequency ${\omega }_{\mathrm{dr}}$ close to $2{\omega }_{\mathrm{CTC}}$ leads to robust locking of ${\omega }_{\mathrm{CTC}}$ to ${\omega }_{\mathrm{dr}}/2$, and hence a DTC arises. This phase transition in a quantum many-body system is related to subharmonic injection locking of non-linear mechanical and electronic oscillators or lasers.

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Exploring nonlinear dynamics in periodically driven time crystal: from synchronized to chaotic motion
• Torus bifurcation of a dissipative time crystal
• Impact of quantum noise on phase transitions in an atom-cavity system with limit cycles
• Dynamical phases of a BEC in a bad optical cavity at optomechanical resonance
• Thermodynamics of coupled time crystals with an application to energy storage
• Master Equation for a Quantum Gas of Polarizable Particles in Cavities
• Bandstructure of a coupled BEC-cavity system: effects of dissipation and geometry
• Harnessing Floquet dynamics for selective metrology in few-qubit systems
• Intrinsic space-time crystalline order in a hybrid Josephson junction