Space-Time Crystals of Trapped Ions

ORAL

Abstract

Spontaneous symmetry breaking can lead to the formation of time crystals, as well as spatial crystals. Here we propose a space-time crystal of trapped ions and a method to realize it experimentally by confining ions in a ring-shaped trapping potential with a static magnetic field. The ions spontaneously form a spatial ring crystal due to Coulomb repulsion. This ion crystal can rotate persistently at the lowest quantum energy state in magnetic fields with fractional fluxes. The persistent rotation of trapped ions produces the temporal order, leading to the formation of a space-time crystal. We show that these spacetime crystals are robust for direct experimental observation. We also study the effects of finite temperatures on the persistent rotation. The proposed space-time crystals of trapped ions provide a new dimension for exploring many-body physics and emerging properties of matter.

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Authors

  • Tongcang Li

    UC Berkeley, University of California, Berkeley

  • Zhexuan Gong

    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Department of Physics, University of Michigan

  • Zhang-Qi Yin

    Tsinghua University

  • H. T. Quan

    University of Maryland, College Park

  • Xiaobo Yin

    University of California, Berkeley

  • Peng Zhang

    University of California, Berkeley

  • L.-M. Duan

    Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

  • Xiang Zhang

    University of California, Berkeley