Classical Time Crystals
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Shapere-2012-Classical Time Crystals.pdf
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131.1 KB
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Author(s) •
Shapere, Alfred
Wilczek, Frank
Date Issued
October 2012
Journal
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Shapere, Alfred, and Frank Wilczek. “Classical Time Crystals.” Physical Review Letters 109.16 (2012). © 2012 American Physical Society
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We consider the possibility that classical dynamical systems display motion in their lowest-energy state, forming a time analogue of crystalline spatial order. Challenges facing that idea are identified and overcome. We display arbitrary orbits of an angular variable as lowest-energy trajectories for nonsingular Lagrangian systems. Dynamics within orbits of broken symmetry provide a natural arena for formation of time crystals. We exhibit models of that kind, including a model with traveling density waves.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Theoretical Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.160402