Ergodic and Discrete Time Crystal Phases in Periodically Kicked Many-Body Quantum Systems: An Analytical Study

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2605.01969v1
• Date: Sun, 03 May 2026 16:56:06 GMT
• Title: Ergodic and Discrete Time Crystal Phases in Periodically Kicked Many-Body Quantum Systems: An Analytical Study
• Abstract summary: We analytically study the time evolution of the expectation values of observables in periodically kicked quantum systems.<n>Our derivation explains the criteria and the mechanism that lead to the infinite-temperature statistical average of observables at long times.<n>We demonstrate these features explicitly in periodically kicked nonintegrable spin chains.
• Score: 7.2990788923551255
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: We analytically study the time evolution of the expectation values of observables in periodically kicked many-body quantum systems. Starting from an initial state, we compute both the transient and the long-time properties of the observables. Our derivation explains the criteria and the mechanism that lead to the infinite-temperature statistical average of observables at long times, irrespective of the initial state. When the criteria are violated, the observables oscillate with time. These oscillations are subharmonic and robust to small perturbations, suggesting the emergence of a discrete time crystal phase. We demonstrate these features explicitly in periodically kicked nonintegrable spin chains. For a spin chain with two kicks per cycle, we show that the kicked chain can exhibit an ergodic or a discrete-time crystal phase for the same kicking strengths, depending on the initial state preparation. We complement our time-evolution study of observables with the spectral form factor of these kicked models.

Related papers

• Quantum Trajectory Entanglement in Seeded Boundary Time Crystals [46.94763753277221]
  entanglement spreads among different spin ensembles when a BTC attempts to seed its time-crystalline behavior onto otherwise static spin ensembles.<n>We analyse both the dynamical growth of entanglement in time and the steady-state properties of the system.<n>These findings establish dissipative seeding as a powerful mechanism for controlling quantum correlations in open many-body systems.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-07-01T18:00:08Z)
• Hawking time crystals [45.88028371034407]
  We propose a time crystal based on a quantum black-hole laser, where the genuinely spontaneous character of the symmetry breaking stems from the self-amplification of spontaneous Hawking radiation.<n>The resulting Hawking time crystal (HTC) is characterized by the periodic dependence of the out-of-time density-density correlation function.<n>Remarkably, the time-crystal formation is understood in terms of two time operators: one associated to the initial black-hole laser and another associated to the final spontaneous Floquet state.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-07-14T23:29:53Z)
• Solving boundary time crystals via the superspin method [44.99833362998488]
  We analyse the Liouvillian spectrum of dissipative spin models, within a perturbative framework in the weak-dissipation limit.<n>We compute the eigenvalues to first order in perturbation theory, providing a direct and transparent explanation for the emergence of the time crystal phase.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-07-09T16:25:31Z)
• Quantum simulation of bubble nucleation across a quantum phase transition [31.874825130479174]
  We use a trapped-ion quantum simulator to observe the real-time dynamics of bubble nucleation'' induced by quantum fluctuations.<n>Results demonstrate the power of quantum simulators to probe out-of-equilibrium many-body physics.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-05-14T17:57:25Z)
• Powering a quantum clock with a non-equilibrium steady state [50.24983453990065]
  We propose powering a quantum clock with the non-thermal resources offered by the stationary state of an integrable quantum spin chain.<n>Using experimentally relevant examples of quantum spin chains, we suggest crossing a phase transition point is crucial for optimal performance.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-12-17T17:25:11Z)
• Observation of multiple time crystals in a driven-dissipative system with Rydberg gas [2.428173897121554]
  In an open quantum system, many-body interaction subjected to dissipation allows one to develop the time crystalline order in an unprecedented way.<n>We report the observation of multiple time crystals in the continuously driven-dissipative and strongly interacting Rydberg thermal gases.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-02-20T16:09:29Z)
• Dissipative time crystal in a strongly interacting Rydberg gas [14.07614057267722]
  We report the experimental observation of such dissipative time crystalline order in a room-temperature atomic gas. The observed limit cycles arise from the coexistence and competition between distinct Rydberg components. The nondecaying autocorrelation of the oscillation, together with the robustness against temporal noises, indicate the establishment of true long-range temporal order.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-05-31T17:44:32Z)
• Observation of a Prethermal $U(1)$ Discrete Time Crystal [0.0]
  A time crystal is a state of periodically driven matter which breaks discrete time translation symmetry. Recent theoretical work has developed the notion of prethermalization. We show the existence of a long-lived prethermal regime whose lifetime is significantly enhanced by. strengthening an emergent $U(1)$ conservation law.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-03-17T20:30:33Z)
• Indication of critical scaling in time during the relaxation of an open quantum system [34.82692226532414]
  Phase transitions correspond to the singular behavior of physical systems in response to continuous control parameters like temperature or external fields. Near continuous phase transitions, associated with the divergence of a correlation length, universal power-law scaling behavior with critical exponents independent of microscopic system details is found.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-08-10T05:59:14Z)
• Emergent time crystals from phase-space noncommutative quantum mechanics [0.0]
  We show that noncommutativity drives the amplitude of periodic oscillations identified as time crystals. A natural extension of our analysis shows how the spontaneous formation of time quasi-crystals can arise.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-07-01T11:24:26Z)
• Observation of Time-Crystalline Eigenstate Order on a Quantum Processor [80.17270167652622]
  Quantum-body systems display rich phase structure in their low-temperature equilibrium states. We experimentally observe an eigenstate-ordered DTC on superconducting qubits. Results establish a scalable approach to study non-equilibrium phases of matter on current quantum processors.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-07-28T18:00:03Z)
• Non-equilibrium non-Markovian steady-states in open quantum many-body systems: Persistent oscillations in Heisenberg quantum spin chains [68.8204255655161]
  We investigate the effect of a non-Markovian, structured reservoir on an open Heisenberg spin chain. We establish a coherent self-feedback mechanism as the reservoir couples frequency-dependent to the spin chain.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-06-05T09:16:28Z)
• Non-stationarity and Dissipative Time Crystals: Spectral Properties and Finite-Size Effects [0.0]
  We provide examples of dissipation mechanisms that yield experimentally observable quantum periodic dynamics. For a disordered Hubbard model including two-particle loss and gain we find a dark Hamiltonian driving oscillations between GHZ states in the long-time limit.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-05-11T12:54:50Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.