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arXiv:1802.00457 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

P31 NMR study of discrete time-crystalline signatures in an ordered crystal of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate

Jared Rovny, Robert L. Blum, Sean Barrett

Published May 1, 2018• 81 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Periodic driving of an interacting spin system may lead to unusual out-of-equilibrium states of matter, such as the discrete time crystal (DTC). Two recent experiments have reported a key signature of the DTC: for long enough interaction times, the system's response becomes rigidly locked to one half of the driving frequency. Using nuclear magnetic resonance, the authors observe this DTC signature in the most unexpected system to date: a three-dimensional, spatially ordered crystal. This challenges the paradigm that the DTC arises from many-body localization. Furthermore, hidden coherence in the system is revealed by the ``DTC echo'' experiment, and the effect of interactions during drive pulses is demonstrated.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.97.184301

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Periodic driving of an interacting spin system may lead to unusual out-of-equilibrium states of matter, such as the discrete time crystal (DTC). Two recent experiments have reported a key signature of the DTC: for long enough interaction times, the system's response becomes rigidly locked to one half of the driving frequency. Using nuclear magnetic resonance, the authors observe this DTC signature in the most unexpected system to date: a three-dimensional, spatially ordered crystal. This challenges the paradigm that the DTC arises from many-body localization. Furthermore, hidden coherence in the system is revealed by the ``DTC echo'' experiment, and the effect of interactions during drive pulses is demonstrated.
A discrete time crystal (DTC) is a robust phase of driven systems that breaks the discrete time translation symmetry of the driving Hamiltonian. Recent experiments have observed DTC signatures in two distinct systems. Here we show nuclear magnetic resonance observations of DTC signatures in a third, strikingly different system: an ordered spatial crystal. We use a novel DTC echo experiment to probe the coherence of the driven system. Finally, we show that interactions during the pulse of the DTC sequence contribute to the decay of the signal, complicating attempts to measure the intrinsic lifetime of the DTC.
The discrete time crystal (DTC) is a nonequilibrium phase of matter that spontaneously breaks time-translation symmetry. Disorder-induced many-body localization can stabilize the DTC phase by breaking ergodicity and preventing thermalization. Here, we observe the hallmark signatures of the many-body–localized DTC using a quantum simulation platform based on individually controllable carbon-13 nuclear spins in diamond. We demonstrate long-lived period-doubled oscillations and confirm that they are robust for generic initial states, thus showing the characteristic time-crystalline order across the many-body spectrum. Our results are consistent with the realization of an out-of-equilibrium Floquet phase of matter and introduce a programmable quantum simulator based on solid-state spins for exploring many-body physics.
A discrete time crystal (DTC) is a remarkable non-equilibrium phase of matter characterized by the persistent sub-harmonic oscillations of physical observables in periodically driven many-body systems. Motivated by the question of whether such a temporal periodic order can persist when the drive becomes aperiodic, we investigate the dynamics of a Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model under quasi-periodic Thue-Morse (TM) driving. Intriguingly, this infinite-range-interacting spin system can host "quasi-discrete time crystal" (quasi-DTC) phases characterized by periodic oscillations of the magnetization. We demonstrate that our model can host the quasi-DTC analog of both period-doubling DTCs as well as higher-order DTCs. These quasi-DTCs are robust to various perturbations, and they originate from the interplay of "all-to-all" interactions and the recursive structure of the TM sequence. Our results suggest that quasi-periodic driving protocols can provide a promising route for realizing novel non-equilibrium phases of matter in long-range interacting systems.
Abstract Discrete time-translational symmetry in a periodically driven many-body system can be spontaneously broken to form a discrete time crystal, an exotic new phase of matter. We present observations characteristic of discrete time crystalline order in a driven system of paramagnetic P-donor impurities in isotopically enriched 28Si cooled below 10 K. The observations exhibit a stable subharmonic peak at half the drive frequency which remains pinned even in the presence of pulse error, a signature of discrete time crystalline order. This signal has a finite lifetime of ∼100 Floquet periods, but this effect is long-lived relative to coherent spin–spin interaction timescales, lasting ∼104 times longer. We present simulations of the system based on the paradigmatic central spin model and show good agreement with experiment. We investigate the role of dissipation and interactions within this model, and show that both are capable of giving rise to discrete time crystal-like behaviour.
Periodically driven quantum systems host a range of non-equilibrium phenomena which are unrealizable at equilibrium. Discrete time-translational symmetry in a periodically driven many-body system can be spontaneously broken to form a discrete time crystal, a putative quantum phase of matter. We present the observation of discrete time crystalline order in a driven system of paramagnetic PPP -donor impurities in isotopically enriched 28Si^{28}Si28Si cooled below 101010 K. The observations exhibit a stable subharmonic peak at half the drive frequency which remains pinned even in the presence of pulse error, a signature of DTC order. We propose a theoretical model based on the paradigmatic central spin model which is in good agreement with experimental observations, and investigate the role of dissipation in the stabilisation of the DTC. Both experiment and theory indicate that the order in this system is primarily a dissipative effect, and which persists in the presence of spin-spin interactions. We present a theoretical phase diagram as a function of interactions and dissipation for the central spin model which is consistent with the experiments. This opens up questions about the interplay of coherent interaction and dissipation for time-translation symmetry breaking in many-body Floquet systems.
A discrete time crystal (DTC) repeats itself with a rigid rhythm, mimicking a ticking clock set by the interplay between its internal structures and an external force. DTCs promise profound applications in precision time-keeping and other quantum techniques. However, it has been facing a grand challenge of thermalization. The periodic driving supplying the power may ultimately bring DTCs to thermal equilibrium and destroy their coherence. Here, we show that an all-to-all interaction delivers a DTC that evades thermalization and maintains quantum coherence and quantum synchronization regardless of spatial inhomogeneities in the driving field and the environment. Moreover, the sensitivity of this DTC scales with the total particle number to the power of three over two, realizing a quantum device of measuring the driving frequency or the interaction strength beyond the Heisenberg limit. Our work paves the way for designing novel non-equilibrium phases with long coherence time to advance quantum metrology.