Journal
NATURE
Volume 543, Issue 7644, Pages 217-+Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nature21413
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Funding
- ARO Atomic and Molecular Physics Program
- AFOSR MURI on Quantum Measurement and Verification
- IARPA LogiQ program
- IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program
- NSF Physics Frontier Center at JQI
- Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science
- AFOSR MURI grant [FA9550- 14-1-0035]
- Simons Investigator Program
- LDRD Program of LBNL under US DOE [DE-AC02-05CH11231]
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Physics [1430094] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a fundamental concept in many areas of physics, including cosmology, particle physics and condensed matter(1). An example is the breaking of spatial translational symmetry, which underlies the formation of crystals and the phase transition from liquid to solid. Using the analogy of crystals in space, the breaking of translational symmetry in time and the emergence of a 'time crystal' was recently proposed(2,3), but was later shown to be forbidden in thermal equilibrium(4-6). However, non-equilibrium Floquet systems, which are subject to a periodic drive, can exhibit persistent time correlations at an emergent subharmonic frequency(7-10). This new phase of matter has been dubbed a 'discrete time crystal'(10). Here we present the experimental observation of a discrete time crystal, in an interacting spin chain of trapped atomic ions. We apply a periodic Hamiltonian to the system under many-body localization conditions, and observe a subharmonic temporal response that is robust to external perturbations. The observation of such a time crystal opens the door to the study of systems with long-range spatio-temporal correlations and novel phases of matter that emerge under intrinsically nonequilibrium conditions(7).
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