Published May 1, 2019 | Version v1
Journal article

Topological time crystals

  • 1. Instytut Fizyki imienia Mariana Smoluchowskiego, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, ulica Profesora Stanisława Łojasiewicza 11, PL-30-348 Kraków (Poland)
  • 2. ICFO—Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, E-08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona) (Spain)

Description

By analogy with the formation of space crystals, crystalline structures can also appear in the time domain. While in the case of space crystals we often ask about periodic arrangements of atoms in space at a moment of a detection, in time crystals the role of space and time is exchanged. That is, we fix a space point and ask if the probability density for detection of a system at this point behaves periodically in time. Here, we show that in periodically driven systems it is possible to realize topological insulators, which can be observed in time. The bulk-edge correspondence is related to the edge in time, where edge states localize. We focus on two examples: Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in time and Bose Haldane insulator which emerges in the dynamics of a periodically driven many-body system. (fast track communication)

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab1e5f

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
New Journal of Physics
Journal Volume
21
Journal Issue
5
Journal Page Range
[11 p.]
ISSN
1367-2630

INIS

Country of Publication
United Kingdom
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
52029001
Subject category
S71: CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS;
Descriptors DEI
ATOMS; CRYSTAL STRUCTURE; CRYSTALS; DETECTION; MANY-BODY PROBLEM; PERIODICITY; PROBABILITY; SPACE; TOPOLOGY
Descriptors DEC
MATHEMATICS; VARIATIONS