Scientists break boundaries of time, offering new route for photonics
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Researchers at the University of Southampton in the UK have made a groundbreaking achievement in studying time crystals, a new state of matter that breaks time-translation symmetry.
In 2012, the concept of time crystals was first proposed. It refers to a state of matter where particles are in continuous oscillatory motion. However, discrete time crystals have already been demonstrated in trapped ions, atoms, and spin systems.
Continuous time crystals, on the other hand, exhibit continuous time-translation symmetry but can enter a regime of periodic motion spontaneously, induced by a vanishingly small perturbation.
It has been discovered that this state is only possible in an open system. A continuous quantum-time-crystal state has recently been observed in a quantum system of ultracold atoms inside an optical cavity illuminated with light.
In a paper published in Nature Physics, researchers at the University of Southampton have demonstrated that a classical metamaterial nanostructure can be driven to a state that exhibits the same essential characteristics of a continuous time crystal. This breakthrough could open up new avenues for research into time crystals and dynamic classical many-body states in the strongly correlated regime.
The team, led by Nikolay I. Zheludev, who has been studying light-matter interactions with nano-opto-mechanical metamaterials for several years, utilized a 2D array of plasmonic metamolecules supported by flexible nanowires.
By continuously and coherently illuminating the photonic metamaterial with a resonating light that interacts with the plasmonic mode of the metamolecules, the researchers induced a spontaneous phase transition to a state that possesses the critical properties of a continuous time crystal. This state is characterized by continuous oscillations resulting from many-body interactions between the metamolecules.
Why the realization of this time crystal state is crucial
Realizing a continuous time crystal state on a classical platform is a substantial step toward developing new optical and photonic devices. The unique system realized by the researchers could pave the way for new applications of the continuous time crystal state in photonic devices.
Zheludev stated, "We demonstrated a continuous time crystal, a new state of matter on a simple classical platform, which is a substantial step towards applications of the continuous time crustal state in photonics devices. The reported observation is only the beginning, and we will continue exploring fundamental properties of the nano-opto-mechanical metamaterial continuous time crystals and their applications."
This groundbreaking achievement has the potential to revolutionize the field of condensed matter physics and open up new opportunities for developing innovative technologies.
The researchers have provided a strong foundation for future research in this field by utilizing classical platforms to demonstrate a continuous time crystal state. With the potential to pave the way for new photonic devices, this research has far-reaching implications in the field of photonics and beyond.
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