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Frequency Comb Behavior from RF Driven Rydberg Dissipative Time Crystals

Published

Author(s)

Dixith Manchaiah, William Watterson, Christopher Holloway

Abstract

Driven nonlinear oscillators constitute a universal paradigm for understanding synchronization, frequency pulling, and frequency comb formation in nonequilibrium systems. Here, we realize such an emergent nonlinear oscillator in strongly interacting cesium Rydberg vapor, where coherent optical excitation, dissipation, and long-range interactions give rise to a driven-dissipative time crystal with intrinsic oscillation frequencies. Further, by externally driving the system with two RF fields under an RF heterodyne condition, with a beat frequency near the intrinsic time crystal frequency, we observe frequency pulling, the generation of intermodulation products, and the emergence of a frequency comb spectrum in the atomic coherence.
Citation
Physical Review Research

Citation

Manchaiah, D. , Watterson, W. and Holloway, C. (2026), Frequency Comb Behavior from RF Driven Rydberg Dissipative Time Crystals, Physical Review Research, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=961642 (Accessed September 1, 2026)
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Created July 27, 2026, Updated August 31, 2026
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