Observation of Discrete-Time-Crystal Signatures in an Ordered Dipolar Many-Body System

Understand

A discrete time crystal (DTC) is a robust phase of driven systems that breaks the discrete time translation symmetry of the driving Hamiltonian.

• Recent experiments have observed DTC signatures in two distinct systems.
• Here we show nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) observations of DTC signatures in a third, strikingly different system: an ordered spatial crystal.
• We use a novel DTC echo experiment to probe the coherence of the driven system.