ENGINEERING TIME-SPACE CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURES

Giedrius Žlabys1, Chu-hui Fan2, Egidijus Anisimovas1, Krzysztof Sacha2

1 Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania

2 Instytut Fizyki Teoretycznej, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, ulica Profesora Stanisława Łojasiewicza 11, PL-30-348 Kraków, Poland

[email protected]

Regular space crystals are described by a spatially periodic distribution of particles observed at a fixed moment of time. To form time crystals [1, 2], the roles between time and space are interchanged. In this case the periodicity is observed in time by fixing a position in space and measuring the periodic detection of particles during the experimental time frame. Time crystal behavior can emerge spontaneously in many-body systems and can also be engineered by suitable external time-periodic driving. This allows to realize a variety of condensed-matter phenomena in the time domain [3, 4].

In this presentation, we demonstrate the notion of time-space crystalline structures (TSCS) which merge the ideas of time and space crystals to form systems that are both temporally and spatially periodic [5]. Starting with a particle in a one-dimensional periodic potential, an external periodic and resonant driving can be used to engineer a crystalline time structure at each potential well of the spatial lattice thus effectively forming a two-dimensional TSCS. This allows us to construct a system where each spatially orthogonal one-dimensional periodic potential comes equipped with a periodic structure in time. For a three-dimensional lattice with a proper choice of driving this leads to a six-dimensional TSCS. Realization of a six-dimensional crystalline structure paves the way towards investigation of higher-dimensional condensed-matter phases.


[1] A. Shapere, F. Wilczek, Classical Time Crystals, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 160402 (2012)

[2] F. Wilczek, Quantum Time Crystals, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 160401 (2012).

[3] K. Sacha, J. Zakrzewski, Time crystals: a review, Rep. Prog. Phys. 81, 016401 (2017)

[4] L. Guo, P. Liang, Condensed matter physics in time crystals, New J. Phys. 22, 075003 (2020)

[5] G. Žlabys, C.-h. Fan, E. Anisimovas, K. Sacha, Six-dimensional time-space crystals, arXiv:2012.02783 (2020)