Time-symmetry breaking in a modulated cold atom system: An ideal mean-field transition

We realize an ideal mean-field transition of time-translation symmetry in a periodically-driven atomic system. The symmetry in steady-state oscillatory atomic motions spontaneously changes with the total number of atoms due to the interplay between inter-atomic interactions which originate from the attenuation effects in the trapping laser light and thermal fluctuations. A large separation of the time scales governing the transition suppresses the spatial dependence of the system dynamics, leading to a mean-field behavior even close to the transition point.