Al Shapere (U. Kentucky)

Time Crystals

I consider the possibility that classical dynamical systems display motion in their lowest energy state, forming a time analogue of crystalline spatial order.  A large class of such systems have kinetic energies depending on higher powers of velocities, with minima at nonzero velocities.  If the potential energy has a nondegenerate minimum, the minimum-energy solution will paradoxically sit at the bottom of the potential while moving with nonzero velocity.  The paradox is resolved by quantization.

Feb 27 at 4pm in Geo/Phys Room 407

Link to paper is here.