Temporal order in periodically driven spins in star-shaped clusters

Abstract

We experimentally study the response of star-shaped clusters of initially unentangled $N=4$, 10 and 37 nuclear spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ moments to an inexact $\pi$-pulse sequence, and show that an Ising coupling between the centre and the satellite spins results in robust period-two magnetization oscillations. The period is stable against bath-effects but the amplitude decays with a time scale that depends on the inexactness of the pulse. Simulations reveal a semiclassical picture where the rigidity of the period is due to a randomizing effect of the Larmor precession under the magnetization of surrounding spins. The time scales with stable periodicity increase with net initial magnetization even in the presence of perturbations, indicating a robust temporal ordered phase for large systems with finite magnetization per spin.