Time Crystals Might Break Physics Rules, New Study Suggests

Compiled by the editorial desk with reference to the original report and statements from the researchers as published by Phys.org.

For years, the idea of a time crystal—a structure that moves perpetually while in its lowest energy state—seemed to defy the very foundations of physics. But a new theoretical study from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) suggests that such objects might actually be possible, offering a fresh perspective on the boundaries of quantum mechanics.

The concept, first introduced in 2012 by Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek, describes an object that cycles through different configurations endlessly, even at its ground state, where motion is typically forbidden. Most physicists dismissed the idea as impossible, arguing that it would violate the principle of time-translation symmetry—the notion that the laws of physics remain constant across all moments.

However, researchers at UCSB, including coauthors Dominic Else and Bela Bauer, have published a paper in Physical Review Letters proposing a way around this apparent contradiction. Their key insight lies in how time crystals might break this symmetry not explicitly, but spontaneously.

“If a symmetry is broken explicitly, then the laws of nature do not have the symmetry anymore; spontaneous symmetry breaking means that the laws of nature have a symmetry, but nature chooses a state that doesn’t,” Else explained to Phys.org.

This distinction is crucial. In spontaneous symmetry breaking, the underlying laws remain symmetric, but the system itself settles into an asymmetric state. The UCSB team developed a simulation using a quantum system known as “Floquet-many-body-localize drive systems” to test whether such spontaneous breaking of time-translation symmetry could occur.

Their results, as reported by Phys.org, showed two significant findings. First, despite the constant motion, the crystal remained far from thermal equilibrium and did not heat up—meaning it respects the second law of thermodynamics. Second, the time-translation symmetry could be broken indefinitely within the system, as it oscillates between symmetry-breaking and symmetry-respecting states.

Bauer noted that the work confirms their initial assumptions about spontaneous time-translation symmetry breaking. “On the other hand, it deepens our understanding that non-equilibrium systems can host many interesting states of matter that cannot exist in equilibrium systems,” he told Phys.org.

Implications for Quantum Physics

If time crystals can indeed exist, they would represent a new phase of matter that operates outside the conventional rules of equilibrium. This could open doors to novel applications in quantum computing and precision measurement, where stable, periodic motion at low energy could be harnessed.

The study also challenges long-held assumptions about the nature of time and symmetry in physics. By demonstrating that time-translation symmetry can be spontaneously broken, the researchers provide a theoretical foundation for phenomena that were previously considered impossible.

While the work is purely theoretical at this stage, it sets the stage for experimental efforts to actually build a time crystal. The next step, as the researchers suggest, is to translate these simulations into physical systems.

For now, the findings offer a compelling glimpse into a world where the laws of physics might be more flexible than once thought—and where perpetual motion, at least at the quantum level, might not be so impossible after all.