{"id":17530,"date":"2017-02-12T15:52:52","date_gmt":"2017-02-12T21:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/?p=17530"},"modified":"2017-02-14T09:13:53","modified_gmt":"2017-02-14T15:13:53","slug":"discovery-of-time-crystals-leads-to-a-new-form-of-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/2017\/02\/12\/discovery-of-time-crystals-leads-to-a-new-form-of-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovery of Time Crystals Leads to a New Form of Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

From quartz to diamond, crystals are ubiquitous in society today. A typical crystal consists of atoms or molecules arranged in a repeating pattern in three-dimensional space, closely resembling a lattice. However, in 2012, theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek proposed the idea of a time crystal – one which, instead of repeating rows of atoms, would exhibit perpetual motion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost research in physics is continuations of things that have gone before,\u201d said Wilczek, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The idea of time crystals was \u201ckind of outside the box.\u201d<\/p>\n

At first, Wilczek\u2019s idea was met with considerable criticism, with detractors arguing that the existence of a time crystal would go against the laws of physics, as its atoms would remain in an infinite loop without extra energy. However, in a paper<\/a> published in late January of 2017, Norman Yao and his associates at the University of California, Berkeley have revealed a blueprint to create a time crystal, in which Yao dictates, step-by-step, how to make and measure the properties of such a crystal.<\/p>\n

Based on Yao\u2019s blueprint, a team at the University of Maryland headed by Chris Monroe constructed a time crystal out of a sequence of ytterbium ions last September. Yao closely collaborated with Monroe\u2019s group to make the crystal, stressing some specific properties of time crystals to confirm that the material was, in fact, a stable or rigid time crystal. Monroe\u2019s group created a time crystal that employed a procession of 10 ytterbium ions whose electron spins interact, similar to the quantam bit (qubit) systems being tested as quantum computers.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Each ytterbium ion behaves like an electron spin and displays long-range interactions indicated with arrows. (Chris Monroe\/University of Maryland)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cSuch similar results achieved in two wildly disparate systems underscore that time crystals are a broad new phase of matter, not simply a curiosity relegated to small or narrowly specific systems,\u201d Phil Richerme of Indiana University wrote in a perspective piece which accompanied the paper published in Physical Review Letters. \u201cObservation of the discrete time crystal\u2026 confirms that symmetry breaking can occur in essentially all natural realms, and clears the way to several new avenues of research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another team at Harvard University created a time crystal by exploiting defects formed in diamond. Dr. Khemani, a renowned physicist and coauthor of a\u00a0Harvard paper<\/a>\u00a0on the topic, agrees on the significance of the experiments. She believes that “these phases are a novel example of spatiotemporally ordered systems which certainly represents a new shift in our understanding of possible quantum orders.”<\/p>\n

In a news release, Yao called it “a new phase of matter, period.”<\/p>\n

“But it is also really cool because it is one of the first examples of non-equilibrium matter,\u201d he explained. \u201cFor the last half-century, we have been exploring equilibrium matter, like metals and insulators. We are just now starting to explore a whole new landscape of non-equilibrium matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scientists parallel the behavior of time crystals with that of Jell-O. When flicked, Jell-O jiggles. Similarly, the time crystals jiggle, but without any expenditure of energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWouldn’t it be super weird if you jiggled the Jell-O and found that somehow it responded at a different period?\u201d said Yao. \u201cBut that is the essence of the time crystal. You have some periodic driver that has a period T, but the system somehow synchronizes so that you observe the system oscillating with a period that is larger than T.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the time crystals do not expend any energy and yet are constantly moving, their infinite motion cannot be harnessed as a potential energy source. As Yao states, \u201cIt would never be possible to extract energy from this motion \u2013 that would violate the conservation of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the creation of time crystals opens a new world of possibilities for physicists and allows further exploration of new forms of matter unimaginable to the human mind. It creates a new perspective of the world around us; in fact, time crystals might\u00a0have enormous implications for building stable qubits for quantum computing.<\/p>\n

Chetan Nayak at Microsoft Station Q, says that research regarding time crystals \u201ccould help us better understand quantum properties and solve the problem of quantum memory associated with quantum computing,\u201d as quantum computers rely on maintaining a state of entanglement among qubits to store information, a state\u00a0of entanglement that could\u00a0remain permanent due to the infinitesimal motion of the time crystals.<\/p>\n

Now, time crystals are more than just an abstraction – they can be created and used to better the living world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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