Dark Energy from Time Crystals

TL;DR

This paper explores a scalar field model producing stable time crystal states that behave as phantom dark energy, with implications for cosmology and the nature of dark energy.

Contribution

It introduces a scalar field time crystal model that naturally leads to phantom dark energy behavior with specific stability properties.

Findings

Time crystals exhibit nonzero motion breaking time translation symmetry.

The fluid of these time crystals acts as phantom dark energy with w ≤ -1.

The model maintains positive sound speed squared and nonnegative energy density.

Abstract

In this work, we analyze a scalar field model which gives rise to stable bound states in field space characterized by nonzero motion that breaks the underlying time translation symmetry of its Hamiltonian, known as time crystals. We demonstrate that an ideal fluid made up of these time crystals behaves as phantom dark energy characterized by an equation of state $w \le -1$, speed of sound squared $c_{s}^{2} > 0$, and nonnegative energy density $\rho \ge 0$.