Discrete time liquids

arXiv:2610.30266v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Discrete time crystals exhibit robust subharmonic oscillations, spontaneously breaking the discrete time-translation symmetry of a periodic drive. Since their emergence, the question of whether other types of temporal many-body order can exist has attracted considerable attention. Here we identify discrete time liquids -- a new form of spatiotemporal order characterized by short-range temporal coherence as a result of time-solitons. We study a two-dimensional spin system coupled to a finite-temperature cavity, whose fluctuations provide a noisy, approximately periodic drive with only finite temporal coherence. Remarkably, the spins nevertheless form a metastable state with robust period-doubled dynamics over an extended parameter regime. Unlike a time crystal, this state has only finite temporal coherence: individual trajectories stochastically switch between the two symmetry-related temporal configurations of the period-doubled response. We identify these switches as time-solitons: topological defects in temporal order that preserve local period doubling while destroying long-range temporal coherence, thereby producing the time liquid state. We propose a minimal model which reproduces the distribution of temporal correlations of the many-body system, suggesting a general description of the time liquid as a time crystal with a finite density of time-solitons. Because these solitons can occur at arbitrary times, ensemble averaging restores continuous time-translation symmetry, raising the intriguing possibility that discrete time liquids can exist in thermal equilibrium.

Abstract:Discrete time crystals exhibit robust subharmonic oscillations, spontaneously breaking the discrete time-translation symmetry of a periodic drive. Since their emergence, the question of whether other types of temporal many-body order can exist has attracted considerable attention. Here we identify discrete time liquids -- a new form of spatiotemporal order characterized by short-range temporal coherence as a result of time-solitons. We study a two-dimensional spin system coupled to a finite-temperature cavity, whose fluctuations provide a noisy, approximately periodic drive with only finite temporal coherence. Remarkably, the spins nevertheless form a metastable state with robust period-doubled dynamics over an extended parameter regime. Unlike a time crystal, this state has only finite temporal coherence: individual trajectories stochastically switch between the two symmetry-related temporal configurations of the period-doubled response. We identify these switches as time-solitons: topological defects in temporal order that preserve local period doubling while destroying long-range temporal coherence, thereby producing the time liquid state. We propose a minimal model which reproduces the distribution of temporal correlations of the many-body system, suggesting a general description of the time liquid as a time crystal with a finite density of time-solitons. Because these solitons can occur at arbitrary times, ensemble averaging restores continuous time-translation symmetry, raising the intriguing possibility that discrete time liquids can exist in thermal equilibrium.

Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el); Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas); Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech); Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

arXiv:2610.30266 [cond-mat.str-el]

(or arXiv:2610.30266v1 [cond-mat.str-el] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.30266 arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

From: Marios H. Michael Dr. [view email] [v1] Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:00:07 UTC (1,661 KB)

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Discrete time liquids

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