Time-Crystalline Topological Superconductors

ORAL

Abstract

Time crystals form when arbitrary physical states of a periodically driven system spontaneously break discrete time-translation symmetry. We introduce the notion of 1D time-crystalline topological superconductors, for which time-translation symmetry breaking and Majorana physics nontrivially intertwine. In the simplest realization, such a phase exhibits a bulk magnetization that returns to its original form after two drive periods, together with unconventional Floquet Majorana end modes that recover their initial form only after four drive periods. We also propose experimental implementations and detection schemes for this new phase.

*Grants DMR-1341822 and DMR-1723367 (A. C. and J. A.); the Minerva foundation with funding from the Federal German Ministry for Education and Research (D.F.M.); Grant Award W911NF-17-1-0323 (A. C. and J. A.); BSF Grant No. 2016258; Caltech's IQIM with support of Grant GBMF1250; and the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics at Caltech.

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Presenters

  • Aaron Chew

    • Caltech
    • California Institute of Technology

Authors

  • Aaron Chew

    • Caltech
    • California Institute of Technology

  • David Mross

    • Weizmann Institute of Science

  • Jason Alicea

    • Caltech
    • Physics, California Institute of Technology
    • California Institute of Technology