Observation of a prethermal discrete time crystal
Abstract
Characterizing and understanding different phases of matter in equilibrium is usually associated with the process of thermalization, where the system equilibrates. Recent efforts probing nonequilibrium systems have revealed that periodic driving of the system can suppress the natural tendency for equilibration yet still form new, nonequilibrium phases. Kyprianidis et al. used a quantum simulator composed of 25 trapped ion qubits and spins to observe such a nonequilibrium phase of matter: the disorder-free prethermal discrete time crystal. The flexibility and tunability of their quantum simulator provide a powerful platform with which to study the exotic phases of matter.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jun 11, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.abg8102
Entities
People
- A. Kyprianidis
- Chetan Nayak
- Christopher Monroe
- D. V. Else
- Francisco Machado
- Guido Pagano
- K. S. Collins
- Lei Feng
- Norman Y Yao
- Patrick Becker
- Paul Hess
- William Morong
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Microsoft
- Middlebury College
- National Science Foundation
- Rice University
- United States Department of Energy
- University of California
- University of Maryland
- W. M. Keck Foundation