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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.20186 |
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Table of Contents:
- Although classical nonlinear dynamics suggests that sufficiently strong nonlinearity can sustain oscillations, quantization of such model typically yields a time-independent steady state that respects time-translation symmetry and thus precludes time-crystal behavior. We identify dephasing as the primary mechanism enforcing this symmetry, which can be suppressed by intercomponent phase correlations. Consequently, a sufficient condition for realizing a continuous time crystal is a nonlinear quantum self-sustaining system exhibiting quantum synchronization among its constituents. As a concrete example, we demonstrate spontaneous oscillations in a synchronized array of van der Pol oscillators, corroborated by both semiclassical dynamics and the quantum Liouville spectrum. These results reduce the identification of time crystals in many-body systems to the evaluation of only two-body correlations and provide a framework for classifying uncorrelated time crystals as trivial.