Abstract
Time crystals are proposed states of matter which spontaneously break time translation symmetry. There is no settled definition of such states. We offer a new definition which follows the traditional recipe for Wigner symmetries and order parameters. Supplementing our definition with a few plausible assumptions we find that a) systems with time-independent Hamiltonians should not exhibit time translation symmetry breaking while b) the recently studied spin glass/Floquet time crystal can be viewed as breaking a global internal symmetry and as breaking time translation symmetry, as befits its two names.
- Received 26 June 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.96.115127
©2017 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied PhysicsStatistical Physics & Thermodynamics