AlbaNova Colloquium

Time Crystals: New States of Matter

by Prof. Frank Wilczek (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Europe/Stockholm
FR4 (Kleinsalen)

FR4 (Kleinsalen)

Description
Symmetry, and the spontaneous breaking of symmetry, are dominant themes in modern physics. Time translation is perhaps the most fundamental of symmetries, and the question of its breaking raises new conceptual issues. From this ferment, one imagines new states of matter, the so-called “time crystals.” First proposed theoretically, they have been recently seen by experimenters. I will review these developments, and discuss future prospects.