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Kyprianidis A, Machado F, Morong W, Becker P, Collins KS, Else DV, Feng L, Hess PW, Nayak C, Pagano G, Yao NY, Monroe C. Observation of a prethermal discrete time crystal. Science 2021; 372:1192-1196. [PMID: 34112691 DOI: 10.1126/science.abg8102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Extending the framework of statistical physics to the nonequilibrium setting has led to the discovery of previously unidentified phases of matter, often catalyzed by periodic driving. However, preventing the runaway heating that is associated with driving a strongly interacting quantum system remains a challenge in the investigation of these newly discovered phases. In this work, we utilize a trapped-ion quantum simulator to observe the signatures of a nonequilibrium driven phase without disorder-the prethermal discrete time crystal. Here, the heating problem is circumvented not by disorder-induced many-body localization, but rather by high-frequency driving, which leads to an expansive time window where nonequilibrium phases can emerge. Floquet prethermalization is thus presented as a general strategy for creating, stabilizing, and studying intrinsically out-of-equilibrium phases of matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Kyprianidis
- Joint Quantum Institute, Department of Physics, and Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
| | - F Machado
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - W Morong
- Joint Quantum Institute, Department of Physics, and Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - P Becker
- Joint Quantum Institute, Department of Physics, and Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - K S Collins
- Joint Quantum Institute, Department of Physics, and Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - D V Else
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - L Feng
- Joint Quantum Institute, Department of Physics, and Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - P W Hess
- Department of Physics, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - C Nayak
- Microsoft Quantum, Station Q, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.,Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - G Pagano
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - N Y Yao
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - C Monroe
- Joint Quantum Institute, Department of Physics, and Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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