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Frequency comb behavior of time crystals in an rf-driven dissipative Rydberg system

Dixith Manchaiah1,2,*, William J. Watterson1, and Christopher L. Holloway1,†

  • *Contact author: dixith.manchaiah@nist.gov
  • †Contact author: christopher.holloway@nist.gov
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033115 – Published 27 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/fg8f-q4rs

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 phase with intrinsic oscillation frequencies. Applying a radio-frequency (rf) field allows controlled tuning of the intrinsic oscillation frequency. Under rf heterodyne conditions, we observe intermodulations, frequency pulling, and, at strong drive, the emergence of a comblike spectrum in the atomic coherence. We qualitatively capture these observations using a four-level mean-field model and demonstrate a classical analog with a driven Van der Pol oscillator. Our results establish interacting Rydberg ensembles as a tunable platform for exploring nonequilibrium time-crystalline order, nonlinear synchronization, and frequency comb generation in many-body atomic systems.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033115– Published 27 July, 2026
  • Received 20 March 2026
  • Accepted 6 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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