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Published on: August 2, 2019
Observation of a Space-Time Crystal in a Superfluid Quantum Gas
J Smits1, L Liao2, H T C Stoof2
1Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science and Center for Extreme Matter and Emergent Phenomena, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.000, 3508 TA Utrecht, Netherlands.
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 ultracold atoms, where the periodic structure in both space and time is 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.
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