Realization of a periodically driven open three-level Dicke model

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a periodically driven open three-level Dicke model in an atom-cavity system, revealing a dynamical phase with time crystalline features characterized by atoms oscillating between pump lattice antinodes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel realization of a driven three-level Dicke model and identifies a dynamical phase with time crystalline properties in an atom-cavity setup.

Findings

Observation of a dynamical phase with atoms localizing periodically

Detection of a time crystalline behavior via phase switching

Identification of oscillating net momentum along the pump axis

Abstract

A periodically driven open three-level Dicke model is realized by resonantly shaking the pump field in an atom-cavity system. As an unambiguous signature, we demonstrate the emergence of a dynamical phase, in which the atoms periodically localize between the antinodes of the pump lattice, associated with an oscillating net momentum along the pump axis. We observe this dynamical phase through the periodic switching of the relative phase between the pump and cavity fields at a small fraction of the driving frequency, suggesting that it exhibits a time crystalline character.