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Physicists are used to dealing with some of the strangest forms of matter and ideas in our known world, from levitating superconducting materials to the mind-blowing theory of time dilation. But even for physicists, time crystals are strange.
They may seem like the hidden treasure of a retro sci-fi TV villain, or maybe fuel for a Time Lord’s TARDIS, but this unusual state of matter is truly an integral part of our reality. Critically, scientists observed the interaction of these crystals for the first time.
This observation brings scientists closer to understanding the strangeness of our world and also has the potential to “heat up” quantum computing, making it much cheaper and more accessible.
The interaction is detailed in a study published Monday in the journal Materials from nature.
What is a time crystal?
We are all familiar with the most common forms of natural matter – liquid, gas, solid and even plasma. Time crystals, on the other hand, are a newly discovered type of matter. This strange question was first theorized by Nobel Laureate and MIT professor Frank Wilczek in 2012 and confirmed just four years ago.
Samuli Autti, associate researcher at Lancaster University and first author of the New Time Crystal Study, recounts Reverse this time the crystals are basically a collection of constantly moving particles without external force.
“Conceptually, a time crystal is a very simple thing: it is a substance where the constituent particles are in constant motion, systematically repeating even in the absence of any external encouragement,” says Autti. “It is very unusual in nature.”
He also admits that the phrase “crystal of time” “sounds like someone who instead adopted the name of a 1980s science fiction television show.”
How to make a time crystal – In order to create these time crystals, the team first cooled (just above absolute zero to nearly -460 degrees Fahrenheit) a test tube mostly vacuum-filled with a rare helium isotope. Two copper coils were then placed around the tube and were “kicked” (aka, a radio frequency pulse was passed through them) to generate two clouds of constantly rotating magnetic particles. It’s not something you can see with the naked eye per se, but Autti explains that these clouds create a signal that can be measured to confirm their presence and the number of particles they are made of.
These mysterious clouds are the crystals of time.
What the team observed, via these invisible signals from the crystals of time, was the exchange of particles between these two clouds, signaling that the crystals of time were in contact with each other.
While this result sounds confusing, Autti says it took the research team a few years to fully understand it.
“It took us all this time to really understand what was going on in the experience and what would be the correct and clear language to present it for the community to understand,” Autti says. “In the end, the result may be simple and clear, but it is only so because of a number of failed attempts and a bunch of rejected ideas.”
What do time crystals mean for quantum computing – Another exciting part of this discovery for researchers, besides just observing this interaction, is that it is also an experimental confirmation of something called the AC Josephson effect, a macroscopic quantum phenomenon that has applications in the field of quantum computing.
Autti says it’s unclear exactly where a discovery like this will take the field of physics or what its future applications might be, but some potential applications of this discovery include improved atomic clocks (which, in turn, would improve technology such as gyroscopes and GPS) as well as quantum computing.
“Fundamentally, contemporary superconducting candidates for components of a quantum computer are based on a Josephson junction between two superconducting metals,” Autti explains. “This is essentially the same as the interaction we observed between [the] two time crystals. ”
In addition to the time crystals’ demonstration of this quantum effect, Autti says that time crystals are good for inherently protecting their own coherence. This means that they are not easily rejected by outside stimuli – a necessary trait for sensitive quantum computers.
Perhaps most exciting is the potential of these time crystals to usher in a new era of “hot” (or, non-absolute zero) quantum computing. Due to the similarity of these crystals to a solid form of matter that condenses at room temperature, Autti and his colleagues believe that crystals of time can do the same. The possibility of getting rid of the super complicated and expensive cooling chambers for quantum computers could be a big step forward in making this technology more accessible and scalable.
Still, Autti says there is a lot of work to be done before this reality materializes:
“Regarding the timing of nominations, many steps towards a more accessible practical realization are needed before any nominations are expected.”
Abstract: Quantum time crystals are systems characterized by a periodic order spontaneously emerging in the time domain. While originally a phase of broken temporal translational symmetry was mere speculation, a wide range of temporal crystals have been reported. However, the dynamics and interactions between these systems have not been studied experimentally. We study here two adjacent quantum time crystals produced by two condensates of magnons in the superfluid 3He-B. We observe a magnon exchange between the time crystals leading to opposite phase oscillations in their populations – a signature of the AC Josephson effect – while the defining periodic motion remains consistent in phase throughout the experiment. Our results demonstrate that time crystals obey the general dynamics of quantum mechanics and provide a basis for exploring the fundamental properties of these phases, opening avenues for possible applications in developing fields, such as the treatment of quantum information.
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