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Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Improving the Success Rate of Protein Crystallization by Random Microseed Matrix Screening
Published on: August 31, 2013
Seeding Crystallization in Time
Michal Hajdušek1,2, Parvinder Solanki3, Rosario Fazio4,5
1Shonan Fujisawa Campus, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-0882, Japan.
Abstract:
We introduce the concept of seeding of crystallization in time by studying the dynamics of an ensemble of coupled continuous time crystals. We demonstrate that a single subsystem in a broken-symmetry phase acting as a nucleation center may induce time-translation symmetry breaking across the entire ensemble. Seeding is observed for both coherent and dissipative coupling, as well as for a broad range of parameter regimes. In the spirit of mutual synchronization, we investigate the parameter regime where all subsystems are in the broken-symmetry phase. We observe that more broadly detuned time crystals require weaker coupling strength to be synchronized. This is in contrast to basic knowledge from classical as well as quantum synchronization theory. We show that this surprising observation is a direct consequence of the seeding effect.
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