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arXiv:1603.04503 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Two-photon Rabi model: analytic solutions and spectral collapse

Liwei Duan, You-Fei Xie, Daniel Braak, Qing‐Hu Chen

Published Oct 26, 2016• 111 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract The two-photon quantum Rabi model is analyzed using the Z 4 -symmetry and su ( 1 , 1 ) -algebra. We derive the G -function whose zeros give the exact eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian. The singularity structure of the G -function allows to draw conclusions about the distribution of these eigenvalues along the real axis and we derive the spectral collapse phenomenon at critical coupling g c , found numerically before. The spectrum at g c consists of a discrete and a continuous part: the ground state is always separated from the continuum by a finite excitation gap, ruling out a quantum phase transition in the usual sense. For large qubit splitting, also other low lying states split off from the continuum. However, perturbation theory predicts the vanishing of the gap to all orders, demonstrating its non-perturbative nature. We corroborate this result with a variational calculation for the ground state.

DOI
10.1088/1751-8113/49/46/464002

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Abstract The two-photon quantum Rabi model is analyzed using the Z 4 -symmetry and su ( 1 , 1 ) -algebra. We derive the G -function whose zeros give the exact eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian. The singularity structure of the G -function allows to draw conclusions about the distribution of these eigenvalues along the real axis and we derive the spectral collapse phenomenon at critical coupling g c , found numerically before. The spectrum at g c consists of a discrete and a continuous part: the ground state is always separated from the continuum by a finite excitation gap, ruling out a quantum phase transition in the usual sense. For large qubit splitting, also other low lying states split off from the continuum. However, perturbation theory predicts the vanishing of the gap to all orders, demonstrating its non-perturbative nature. We corroborate this result with a variational calculation for the ground state.
Spectral collapse, the transition from a discrete to a continuous spectrum, is a characteristic in quantum Rabi models. We explore this phenomenon in the two-photon quantum Rabi model using optical phase space, and we find that, in the so-called degenerate qubit regime, the collapse is similar to the transition from a harmonic to an inverted oscillator with the free-particle potential as a critical transition point. In the degenerate qubit regime, we construct Dirac-normalizable eigenfunctions with well-defined parity for the model. In the general model, we use parity to diagonalize the system in the qubit basis and numerically find that the qubit frequency does not change the critical point where spectral collapse occurs. We numerically confirm the existence of an exceptional state at the critical coupling, and we argue its analytic provenance from both a Born-Oppenheimer and a variational approximation.
The full two-photon quantum Rabi model describes the nonlinear coupling between a superconducting qubit and a resonator. It possesses [Formula: see text] symmetry, in contrast to the conventional two-photon quantum Rabi model in cavity quantum electrodynamics systems, which exhibits [Formula: see text] symmetry. Using the su(1,1) Lie algebra and [Formula: see text] symmetry, we derive a transcendental function whose zeros yield the exact eigenvalues. The spectral collapse phenomenon at the critical coupling [Formula: see text] is derived analytically. At [Formula: see text], the model can be mapped to an inverse-square potential well, where an infinite number of bound states approach the threshold energy exponentially. Our results may provide new insights into spectral phenomena in practical experimental realizations of superconducting circuits with nonlinear coupling.
Spectral collapse in the two-photon quantum Rabi model (tpQRM) has long been regarded as insufficient to establish quantum criticality because, under generic conditions, the lowest excitation gap remains finite. We show that, at a special qubit frequency, spectral collapse in the anisotropic tpQRM constitutes a continuous quantum phase transition governed by a single soft mode. The same-parity gap, set by the vanishing effective oscillator frequency, closes with exponent zν=1/2zν= 1/2zν=1/2, whereas the lower different-parity gap arises from symmetry-induced splitting. Parity symmetry excludes the different-parity excitation from the quantum Fisher information response and restricts Kibble-Zurek dynamics to excitations within the ground-state parity sector. Together, these results identify the same-parity excitation as the soft mode and its gap as the characteristic energy scale. The corresponding critical exponents, ν=1/4ν=1/4ν=1/4 and z=2z=2z=2, place the anisotropic tpQRM in the same universality class as the standard QRM. Our results establish spectral collapse as a potential route to experimentally accessible quantum criticality in a few-body system and show that universality is determined by the soft-mode structure rather than by the closing of the lowest excitation gap.
Abstract The analytically exact solutions to the two-photon Rabi–Stark model are given by using the Bogoliubov operators approach. Transcendental functions responsible for the exact solutions are derived. The zeros of the transcendental functions reproduce completely the regular spectra. The first-order quantum phase transitions are also detected by the pole structure of the derived transcendental functions, similar to the one-photon Rabi–Stark model, different from the two-photon Rabi model where the energy levels for the ground-state and the first excited state do not cross. The spectra collapse characteristics resemble those in two-photon Rabi model. Some low lying levels can split off from the collapse energy, which is different from the one-photon Rabi–Stark model in which all levels collapse.
We have shown that the smallest possible singel-qubit critical coupling strength of the N-qubit two-photon Rabi model is only 1/N times that of the two-photon Rabi model. The spectral collapse can thus occur at a more attainable value of the critical coupling. For both of the two-qubit and three-qubit cases, we have also rigorously demonstrated that at the critical coupling the system not only has a set of discrete eigenenergies but also a continuous energy spectrum. The discrete eigenenergy spectrum can be derived via a simple one-to-one mapping to the bound state problem of a particle of variable effective mass in the presence of a finite potential well and a nonlocal potential. The energy difference of each qubit, which specifies both the depth of the finite potential well and the strength of the nonlocal potential, determines the number of bound states available, implying that the extent of the incomplete spectral collapse can be monitored in a straightforward manner.
ABSTRACT We investigate the spectral properties and quantum criticality of the two‐photon Rabi–Stark model. Using the exact solution of this model, we rigorously derive a condition for complete spectral collapse, where all bound states vanish. In this case, the energy gap closes at a critical coupling, signaling a continuous quantum phase transition. The corresponding gap exponent differs from those in both the one‐photon Rabi–Stark model and the quantum Rabi model, suggesting a distinct universality class. While in the general case, an infinite number of discrete bound states exist when spectral collapse occurs and the energy gap remains open. By mapping to an inverse square potential well, these bound levels approach the threshold energy exponentially. Our results offer new insights into novel spectral phenomena in nonlinear quantum Rabi models, with potential implications for experimental realizations in circuit quantum electrodynamics and trapped ion systems.