Abstract We analyze the dynamics of a two-level quantum system (TLS) under the influence of a strong sinusoidal driving signal whose origin is the interaction of the two-level system with a quantum field. In this approach the driving field is replaced by a harmonic oscillator that is either strongly coupled to the TLS or populated with a large number of photons. Starting from the Rabi model, we derive expressions for the TLS’s oscillation frequencies and compare the results with those obtained from the model where the driving signal is treated classically. We show that in the limits of weak coupling and large photon number, the well-known expression for the Rabi frequency in the strong driving regime is recovered. In the opposite limit of strong coupling and small photon number, we find differences between the predictions of the semiclassical and quantum models. The results of the quantum picture can therefore be understood as Landau–Zener–Stueckelberg interferometry in the fully quantum regime.
Abstract We analyze the dynamics of a two-level quantum system (TLS) under the influence of a strong sinusoidal driving signal whose origin is the interaction of the two-level system with a quantum field. In this approach the driving field is replaced by a harmonic oscillator that is either strongly coupled to the TLS or populated with a large number of photons. Starting from the Rabi model, we derive expressions for the TLS’s oscillation frequencies and compare the results with those obtained from the model where the driving signal is treated classically. We show that in the limits of weak coupling and large photon number, the well-known expression for the Rabi frequency in the strong driving regime is recovered. In the opposite limit of strong coupling and small photon number, we find differences between the predictions of the semiclassical and quantum models. The results of the quantum picture can therefore be understood as Landau–Zener–Stueckelberg interferometry in the fully quantum regime.
We propose and experimentally demonstrate a scheme to simulate the interaction between a two-level system and a classical light field. Under the transversal driving of two microwave tones, the effective Hamiltonian in an appropriate rotating frame is identical to that of the general semi-classical Rabi model. We experimentally realize this Hamiltonian with a superconducting transmon qubit. By tuning the strength, phase, and frequency of the two microwave driving fields, we simulate the quantum dynamics from the weak to extremely strong driving regime. Under these conditions, we observe that, as a function of increased Rabi drive strength, the qubit evolution gradually deviates from the normal sinusoidal Rabi oscillation, in accordance with the predictions of the general semi-classical Rabi model far beyond the weak driving limit. Our scheme provides an effective approach to investigate the extremely strong interaction between a two-level system and a classical light field. Such strong interactions are usually inaccessible in experiments.
A Hamiltonian describing the interaction of a two-level system with an oscillator and an external field that induces transitions between the two levels is analyzed using the quantum mechanical (QM) solution and a semiclassical (SC) approximation. The Hamiltonian can describe coherent optical transitions and coherences in electron transfer processes. We focus on strongly driven systems where coherent oscillations of the populations of the two-level system are important and show that in this regime the SC approximation is a good representation of the QM behavior. The results are interpreted by constructing appropriate Landau-Zener-Massey parameters.
This paper presents nonlinear Landau–Zener (LZ) tunneling of an electron spin in an accelerating optical parabolic potential, manifested in a heterostructure quantum wire subjected to a periodic magnetic field comprising a spike and a homogeneous part. In this context, driving the two states of a pure nonlinear two-level quantum bit (qubit) system through an avoided level crossing can result in nontrivial dynamics, especially with and without considering a parabolic confinement potential characterized by a curvature confinement potential. We report two striking nonadiabatic and adiabatic scenarios in low modulation frequency limit which appear when such strength modulation occurs. Firstly, the changes of the amplitude of the driving field without considering a parabolic confinement potential act as a perturbation which mixes the spin states. Here, the dynamical evolution of the tunneling probabilities of the nonadiabatic populations under investigation is analyzed. Secondly, for strong fields and strong dependence of a parabolic confinement potential, the two diabatic states do not cross but present anti-crossing phenomenon as the time tends to infinity, describing an adiabatic transition. However, if the field strength in a wire is weak enough, the level separation of a qubit state switches abruptly around the crossing point, and LZ tunneling applies to the whole dynamical range, from adiabatic to fully nonadiabatic crossing. Locally, the tunneling process can be seen as a two-level system (TLS) undergoing a Rabi oscillation. These results open new prospects for the use of quantum interferences in spin–based devices.
Landau-Zener-Stuckelberg interferometry has been extensively investigated in quantum two-level systems, with particular interests on artificial system such as superconducting flux qubits. With increasing the driving field amplitude, more energy levels will be involved into the quantum evolution, which results in population inversion and many interesting interference patterns. These interference patterns can be used to obtain the parameters characterizing the system and probe dephasing mechanisms of the qubit. Most recently, experiments have been extended to the regime with higher-frequency and larger-amplitude driving field, in which the interference pattern exhibited more complicated characteristics. In this article, we give a universal description of the characteristics observed in both low-frequency and high-frequency regimes. Besides explaining the already observed experimental results, our theoretical model predicted many interesting phenomenon, which can be demonstrated by future experiments.
Quantum systems driven by strong oscillating fields are the source of many interesting physical phenomena. In this work, we experimentally study the dynamics of a two-level system of a single spin driven in the strong-driving regime where the rotating-wave approximation is not valid. This two-level system is a subsystem of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond coupled to a first-shell 13C nuclear spin at a level anticrossing point. This near degeneracy occurs in the ${m}_{s}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$ manifold of the electron spin when the energy level splitting between the ${m}_{s}=\ensuremath{-}1$ and +1 states due to the static magnetic field is $\ensuremath{\approx}127$ MHz and thus equal to the splitting due to the 13C hyperfine interaction. The transition frequency of this electron spin two-level system in a static magnetic field of 28.9 G is 1.7 MHz and it can be driven only by the component of the radio-frequency (RF) field along the NV symmetry axis. Electron spin Rabi frequencies in this system can reach tens of MHz even for moderate RF powers. The simple sinusoidal Rabi oscillations that occur when the amplitude of the driving field is small compared to the transition frequency evolve into complex patterns when the driving field amplitude is comparable to or greater than the energy level splitting. We observe that the system oscillates faster than the amplitude of the driving field and the response of the system shows multiple frequencies.
Two basic physical models, a two-level system and a harmonic oscillator, are realized on the mesoscopic scale as coupled qubit and resonator. The realistic system includes moreover the electronics for controlling the distance between the qubit energy levels and their populations and to read out the resonator’s state, as well as the unavoidable dissipative environment. Such rich system is interesting both for the study of fundamental quantum phenomena on the mesoscopic scale and as a promising system for future electronic devices. We present recent results for the driven superconducting qubit–resonator system, where the resonator can be realized as an LC circuit or a nanomechanical resonator. Most of the results can be described by the semiclassical theory, where a qubit is treated as a quantum two-level system coupled to the classical driving field and the classical resonator. Application of this theory allows to describe many phenomena for the single and two coupled superconducting qubits, among which are the following: the equilibrium-state and weak-driving spectroscopy, Sisyphus damping and amplification, Landau–Zener–Stückelberg interferometry, the multiphoton transitions of both direct and ladder-type character, and creation of the inverse population for lasing.