Time Crystals in an Array of Coupled Tiny Magnetic Molecules

What is it about?

In our everyday world, time moves forward, and things change accordingly. A regular crystal is a material where atoms are arranged in a repeating pattern in space, like the orderly structure of a diamond. A time crystal takes this idea into the dimension of time. It's a system that cycles back to its original state over and over again, creating a pattern that repeats in time. What's unusual is that this happens without the system using any energy, unlike a clock that needs a battery to keep ticking. The concept was first suggested by physicist Frank Wilczek in 2012, but it faced challenges because it didn't fit well with established physical laws. In 2016, other researchers proposed a modified version called "discrete time crystals," which require a regular external push but still obey the laws of thermodynamics. Scientists have been experimenting with various systems to create time crystals, such as trapped ions and superconducting circuits. Now, through theoretical and numerical calculations we have shown that molecular magnets can also host time crystals. These tiny magnetic molecules can be created in the lab and have properties that can be finely adjusted to meet the conditions needed for time-crystal behavior.

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Photo by noor Younis on Unsplash

Photo by noor Younis on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study is important because it demonstrates that time crystals—a novel phase of matter where a system's configuration repeats in time without energy expenditure—can exist in nanoscale chemical systems like molecular magnets. By using theoretical and numerical calculations with parameters achievable in experiments, the research shows that these tiny magnetic molecules meet the conditions needed for time-crystalline behavior. This finding introduces a new, practical platform for exploring time crystals, as molecular magnets are highly tunable and can be easily synthesized in the lab, potentially impacting the field of quantum technologies.