Defining time crystals via representation theory

Vedika Khemani, Curt Von Keyserlingk, S. L. Sondhi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Time crystals are proposed states of matter which spontaneously break time translation symmetry. There is no settled definition of such states. We offer a new definition which follows the traditional recipe for Wigner symmetries and order parameters. Supplementing our definition with a few plausible assumptions we find that a) systems with time-independent Hamiltonians should not exhibit time translation symmetry breaking while b) the recently studied π spin glass/Floquet time crystal can be viewed as breaking a global internal symmetry and as breaking time translation symmetry, as befits its two names.

Original languageEnglish
Article number115127
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume96
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Sept 2017

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics

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