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arXiv:1806.10536 · New Journal of Physics

Topological time crystals

Krzysztof Giergiel, Alexandre Dauphin, Maciej Lewenstein, Jakub Zakrzewski, Krzysztof Sacha

Published May 1, 2019• 63 citations
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Abstract

Abstract By analogy with the formation of space crystals, crystalline structures can also appear in the time domain. While in the case of space crystals we often ask about periodic arrangements of atoms in space at a moment of a detection, in time crystals the role of space and time is exchanged. That is, we fix a space point and ask if the probability density for detection of a system at this point behaves periodically in time. Here, we show that in periodically driven systems it is possible to realize topological insulators, which can be observed in time. The bulk-edge correspondence is related to the edge in time, where edge states localize. We focus on two examples: Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in time and Bose Haldane insulator which emerges in the dynamics of a periodically driven many-body system.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/ab1e5f

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Abstract By analogy with the formation of space crystals, crystalline structures can also appear in the time domain. While in the case of space crystals we often ask about periodic arrangements of atoms in space at a moment of a detection, in time crystals the role of space and time is exchanged. That is, we fix a space point and ask if the probability density for detection of a system at this point behaves periodically in time. Here, we show that in periodically driven systems it is possible to realize topological insulators, which can be observed in time. The bulk-edge correspondence is related to the edge in time, where edge states localize. We focus on two examples: Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in time and Bose Haldane insulator which emerges in the dynamics of a periodically driven many-body system.
Systems which can spontaneously reveal periodic evolution are dubbed time crystals. This is in analogy with space crystals that display periodic behavior in configuration space. While space crystals are modeled with the help of space periodic potentials, crystalline phenomena in time can be modeled by periodically driven systems. Disorder in the periodic driving can lead to Anderson localization in time: the probability for detecting a system at a fixed point of configuration space becomes exponentially localized around a certain moment in time. We here show that a three-dimensional system exposed to a properly disordered pseudoperiodic driving may display a localized-delocalized Anderson transition in the time domain, in strong analogy with the usual three-dimensional Anderson transition in disordered systems. Such a transition could be experimentally observed with ultracold atomic gases.
Particles in space periodic potentials constitute standard models for investigation of crystalline phenomena in solid state physics. Time periodicity of periodically driven systems is a close analogue of space periodicity of solid state crystals. There is an intriguing question if solid state phenomena can be observed in the time domain. Here we show that wave-packets localized on resonant classical trajectories of periodically driven systems are ideal elements to realize Anderson localization or Mott insulator phase in the time domain. Uniform superpositions of the wave-packets form stationary states of a periodically driven particle. However, an additional perturbation that fluctuates in time results in disorder in time and Anderson localization effects emerge. Switching to many-particle systems we observe that depending on how strong particle interactions are, stationary states can be Bose-Einstein condensates or single Fock states where definite numbers of particles occupy the periodically evolving wave-packets. Our study shows that non-trivial crystal-like phenomena can be observed in the time domain.
Time crystals are quantum many-body systems that, due to interactions between particles, are able to spontaneously self-organize their motion in a periodic way in time by analogy with the formation of crystalline structures in space in condensed matter physics. In solid state physics properties of space crystals are often investigated with the help of external potentials that are spatially periodic and reflect various crystalline structures. A similar approach can be applied for time crystals, as periodically driven systems constitute counterparts of spatially periodic systems, but in the time domain. Here we show that condensed matter problems ranging from single particles in potentials of quasicrystal structure to many-body systems with exotic long-range interactions can be realized in the time domain with an appropriate periodic driving. Moreover, it is possible to create molecules where atoms are bound together due to destructive interference if the atomic scattering length is modulated in time.
Topological insulators are unique materials possessing forbidden topological gap and behaving similar to usual insulators in their bulk, but at the same time supporting localized in-gap states at their edges that demonstrate exceptional robustness, because they are protected by topology of the system and cannot be destroyed by local disorder or edge perturbations. Topological insulators discovered in different areas of physics, including optics, acoustics, and physics of Bose-Einstein and polariton condensates, usually employ potential landscapes (or lattices), designed such as to feature specific degeneracies in their linear modal spectra, that can be lifted by various physical effects or controllable deformations of the potential, leading to opening of the topological gap, where edge states appear. In this work, using binary Bose-Einstein condensate we propose a type of topological insulator that does not explicitly use specially designed potential landscape, but instead utilizes spatially inhomogeneous Rabi coupling between two components, in the form of a one- or two-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger structure, combined with Zeeman splitting. Such Rabi lattices reveal the appearance of topologically nontrivial phases (including higher-order ones) controlled by spatial shift of the domains with enhanced coupling between condensates within unit cells of the structure, where localized topological states appear at the edges or in the corners of truncated Rabi lattice. We also show that the properties of edge states, their spatial localization, and location of their chemical potential within topological gap can be controlled by interatomic interactions that lead to formation of gap topological edge solitons bifurcating from linear edge states. Such solitons in condensates with inhomogeneous Rabi coupling appear as very robust nonlinear topological objects that do not require any threshold norm for their formation even in two-dimensional geometries, and that can exist in stable form for both attractive and repulsive interactions. Our results demonstrate considerable enhancement of stability of solitons in topological Rabi lattices in comparison with trivial Rabi lattices. They open additional prospects for realization of topologically nontrivial phases by spatial engineering of coupling in multicomponent systems.
Time crystals form when arbitrary physical states of a periodically driven system spontaneously break discrete time-translation symmetry. We introduce one-dimensional time-crystalline topological superconductors, for which time-translation symmetry breaking and topological physics intertwine-yielding anomalous Floquet Majorana modes that are not possible in free-fermion systems. Such a phase exhibits a bulk magnetization that returns to its original form after two drive periods, together with Majorana end modes that recover their initial form only after four drive periods. We propose experimental implementations and detection schemes for this new state.