Discrete time-crystalline order in black diamond

POSTER

Abstract

The interplay of periodic driving, disorder, and strong interactions has recently been predicted to result in exotic ''time-crystalline'' phases, which spontaneously break the discrete time-translation symmetry of the underlying drive. Here, we report the experimental observation of such discrete time-crystalline order in a driven, disordered ensemble of $\sim 10^6$ dipolar spin impurities in diamond at room-temperature. We observe long-lived temporal correlations at integer multiples of the fundamental driving period, experimentally identify the phase boundary and find that the temporal order is protected by strong interactions; this order is remarkably stable against perturbations, even in the presence of slow thermalization. Our work opens the door to exploring dynamical phases of matter and controlling interacting, disordered many-body systems.

Authors

  • Hengyun Zhou

    • Harvard University
  • Soonwon Choi

    • Harvard University
  • Joonhee Choi

    • Harvard University
  • Renate Landig

    • Harvard University
  • Georg Kucsko

    • Harvard University
  • Junichi Isoya

    • University of Tsukuba
  • Fedor Jelezko

    • Ulm University
  • Shinobu Onoda

    • Takasaki Advanced Radiation Research Institute
  • Hitoshi Sumiya

    • Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.
  • Vedika Khemani

    • Harvard University
  • Curt von Keyserlingk

    • Princeton University
  • Norman Yao

    • University of California Berkeley
  • Eugene Demler

    • Harvard University
  • Mikhail D. Lukin

    • Harvard University