YQI Seminar - Mark Dykman - Michigan State University

Interaction-induced time symmetry breaking in driven oscillators

A periodically driven system has discrete time-translation symmetry with the period of the driving. Its quantum dynamics is described in terms of the Floquet states. Generally, if the system is in a Floquet state, its dynamical variables oscillate with the period of the driving. Recently much interest have attracted systems where this discrete time-translation symmetry is broken, the “time crystal” effect. Nonlinear oscillators, including nanomechanical systems and modes in electromagnetic cavities, provide a natural platform for studying this effect. We will discuss the classical and quantum phase transitions to the broken-symmetry state in systems of coupled oscillators.