Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1712.05039 · Physical Review Letters

Inversion of Qubit Energy Levels in Qubit-Oscillator Circuits in the Deep-Strong-Coupling Regime

Fumiki Yoshihara, T. Fuse, Z. Ao, Sahel Ashhab, Kosuke Kakuyanagi, Shiro Saito, T. Aoki, Kazuki Koshino, Kouichi Semba

Published May 3, 2018• 109 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We report on experimentally measured light shifts of superconducting flux qubits deep-strongly coupled to LC oscillators, where the coupling constants are comparable to the qubit and oscillator resonance frequencies. By using two-tone spectroscopy, the energies of the six lowest levels of each circuit are determined. We find huge Lamb shifts that exceed 90% of the bare qubit frequencies and inversions of the qubits' ground and excited states when there are a finite number of photons in the oscillator. Our experimental results agree with theoretical predictions based on the quantum Rabi model.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.120.183601

Related papers

Hamiltonian of a flux qubit-LC oscillator circuit in the deep–strong-coupling regime

F. Yoshihara, Sahel Ashhab, T. Fuse +2 more

We derive the Hamiltonian of a superconducting circuit that comprises a single-Josephson-junction flux qubit inductively coupled to an LC oscillator, and we compare the derived circuit Hamiltonian with the quantum Rabi Hamiltonian, which describes a two-level system coupled to a harmonic oscillator. We show that there is a simple, intuitive correspondence between the circuit Hamiltonian and the quantum Rabi Hamiltonian. While there is an overall shift of the entire spectrum, the energy level structure of the circuit Hamiltonian up to the seventh excited states can still be fitted well by the quantum Rabi Hamiltonian even in the case where the coupling strength is larger than the frequencies of the qubit and the oscillator, i.e., when the qubit-oscillator circuit is in the deep-strong-coupling regime. We also show that although the circuit Hamiltonian can be transformed via a unitary transformation to a Hamiltonian containing a capacitive coupling term, the resulting circuit Hamiltonian cannot be approximated by the variant of the quantum Rabi Hamiltonian that is obtained using an analogous procedure for mapping the circuit variables onto Pauli and harmonic oscillator operators, even for relatively weak coupling. This difference between the flux and charge gauges follows from the properties of the qubit Hamiltonian eigenstates.

arXiv:2008.07708•Scientific Reports•Apr 26, 2022•15 citations

Extremely large Lamb shift in a deep-strongly coupled circuit QED system with a multimode resonator

Ziqiao Ao, Sahel Ashhab, Fumiki Yoshihara +5 more

We report experimental and theoretical results on the extremely large Lamb shift in a multimode circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) system in the deep-strong coupling (DSC) regime, where the qubit-resonator coupling strength is comparable to or larger than the qubit and resonator frequencies. The system comprises a superconducting flux qubit (FQ) and a quarter-wavelength coplanar waveguide resonator ([Formula: see text] CPWR) that are coupled inductively through a shared edge that contains a Josephson junction to achieve the DSC regime. Spectroscopy is performed around the frequency of the fundamental mode of the CPWR, and the spectrum is fitted by the single-mode quantum Rabi Hamiltonian to obtain the system parameters. Since the qubit is also coupled to a large number of higher modes in the resonator, the single-mode fitting does not provide the bare qubit energy but a value that incorporates the renormalization from all the other modes. We derive theoretical formulas for the Lamb shift in the multimode resonator system. As shown in previous studies, there is a cut-off frequency [Formula: see text] for the coupling between the FQ and the modes in the CPWR, where the coupling grows as [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] and decreases as [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text]. Here [Formula: see text] is the frequency of the nth mode. The cut-off effect occurs because the qubit acts as an obstacle for the current in the resonator, which suppresses the current of the modes above [Formula: see text] at the location of the qubit and results in a reduced coupling strength. Using our observed spectrum and theoretical formulas, we estimate that the Lamb shift from the fundamental mode is 82.3% and the total Lamb shift from all the modes is 96.5%. This result illustrates that the coupling to the large number of modes in a CPWR yields an extremely large Lamb shift but does not suppress the qubit energy to zero, which would happen in the absence of a high-frequency cut-off.

arXiv:2303.04114•Scientific Reports•Jul 13, 2023•13 citations

The Spectrum in Qubit-Oscillator Systems in the Ultrastrong Coupling Regime

Qing‐Hu Chen, Lei Li, Tao Liu +1 more

Recent measurement on an LC resonator magnetically coupled to a superconducting qubit [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 105 (2010) 237001 ] shows that the system operates in the ultra-strong coupling regime and crosses the limit of validity for the rotating-wave approximation of the Jaynes-Cummings model. By using extended bosonic coherent states, we solve the Jaynes—Cummings model exactly without using the rotating-wave approximation. Our numerically exact results for the spectrum of the flux qubit coupled to the LC resonator are fully consistent with the experimental observations. The smallest Bloch—Siegert shift obtained is consistent with that observed in this experiment. In addition, the Bloch—Siegert shifts in arbitrary level transitions and for arbitrary coupling constants are predicted.

Chinese Physics Letters•Jan 1, 2012•12 citations

Theory of Spectrum in Qubit-Oscillator Systems in the Ultrastrong Coupling Regime

Qing-Hu Chen, Lei Li, Tao Liu +1 more

Recent measurement on an LC resonator magnetically coupled to a superconducting qubit[arXiv:1005.1559] shows that the system operates in the ultra-strong coupling regime and crosses the limit of validity for the rotating-wave approximation of the Jaynes-Cummings model. By using extended bosonic coherent states, we solve the Jaynes-Cummings model exactly without the rotating-wave approximation. Our numerically exact results for the spectrum of the flux qubit coupled to the LC resonator are fully consistent with the experimental observations. The smallest Bloch-Siegert shift obtained is consistent with that observed in this experiment. In addition, the Bloch-Siegert shifts in arbitrary level transitions and for arbitrary coupling constants are predicted.

arXiv:1007.1747•Jul 10, 2010•0 citations

Vacuum Rabi Oscillations in a Macroscopic Superconducting Qubit LC Oscillator System

J. Johansson, Shiro Saito, Takayoshi Meno +4 more

We have observed the coherent exchange of a single energy quantum between a flux qubit and a superconducting LC circuit acting as a quantum harmonic oscillator. The exchange of an energy quantum is known as the vacuum Rabi oscillation: the qubit is oscillating between the excited state and the ground state and the oscillator between the vacuum state and the first excited state. We also show that we can detect the state of the oscillator with the qubit and thereby obtained evidence of level quantization of the LC circuit. Our results support the idea of using oscillators as couplers of solid-state qubits.

arXiv:cond-mat/0510457•Physical Review Letters•Mar 31, 2006•248 citations

Vacuum Rabi splitting due to strong coupling of a flux qubit and a coplanar-waveguide resonator

A. A. Abdumalikov, O. V. Astafiev, Yasunobu Nakamura +2 more

We have experimentally studied a superconducting flux qubit strongly coupled to a single mode of a high-quality transmission-type coplanar-waveguide resonator. The qubit-resonator coupling is revealed in the resonator transmission spectrum as a vacuum Rabi splitting. In the dispersive regime the qubit energy levels are spectroscopically probed. We observe a shift in the qubit transition frequency that linearly depends on the number of photons in the resonator, which is attributed to the ac-Zeeman shift. The observations are in agreement with the theoretical predictions.

Physical Review B•Nov 10, 2008•126 citations
We report on experimentally measured light shifts of superconducting flux qubits deep-strongly coupled to LC oscillators, where the coupling constants are comparable to the qubit and oscillator resonance frequencies. By using two-tone spectroscopy, the energies of the six lowest levels of each circuit are determined. We find huge Lamb shifts that exceed 90% of the bare qubit frequencies and inversions of the qubits' ground and excited states when there are a finite number of photons in the oscillator. Our experimental results agree with theoretical predictions based on the quantum Rabi model.
We derive the Hamiltonian of a superconducting circuit that comprises a single-Josephson-junction flux qubit inductively coupled to an LC oscillator, and we compare the derived circuit Hamiltonian with the quantum Rabi Hamiltonian, which describes a two-level system coupled to a harmonic oscillator. We show that there is a simple, intuitive correspondence between the circuit Hamiltonian and the quantum Rabi Hamiltonian. While there is an overall shift of the entire spectrum, the energy level structure of the circuit Hamiltonian up to the seventh excited states can still be fitted well by the quantum Rabi Hamiltonian even in the case where the coupling strength is larger than the frequencies of the qubit and the oscillator, i.e., when the qubit-oscillator circuit is in the deep-strong-coupling regime. We also show that although the circuit Hamiltonian can be transformed via a unitary transformation to a Hamiltonian containing a capacitive coupling term, the resulting circuit Hamiltonian cannot be approximated by the variant of the quantum Rabi Hamiltonian that is obtained using an analogous procedure for mapping the circuit variables onto Pauli and harmonic oscillator operators, even for relatively weak coupling. This difference between the flux and charge gauges follows from the properties of the qubit Hamiltonian eigenstates.
We report experimental and theoretical results on the extremely large Lamb shift in a multimode circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) system in the deep-strong coupling (DSC) regime, where the qubit-resonator coupling strength is comparable to or larger than the qubit and resonator frequencies. The system comprises a superconducting flux qubit (FQ) and a quarter-wavelength coplanar waveguide resonator ([Formula: see text] CPWR) that are coupled inductively through a shared edge that contains a Josephson junction to achieve the DSC regime. Spectroscopy is performed around the frequency of the fundamental mode of the CPWR, and the spectrum is fitted by the single-mode quantum Rabi Hamiltonian to obtain the system parameters. Since the qubit is also coupled to a large number of higher modes in the resonator, the single-mode fitting does not provide the bare qubit energy but a value that incorporates the renormalization from all the other modes. We derive theoretical formulas for the Lamb shift in the multimode resonator system. As shown in previous studies, there is a cut-off frequency [Formula: see text] for the coupling between the FQ and the modes in the CPWR, where the coupling grows as [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] and decreases as [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text]. Here [Formula: see text] is the frequency of the nth mode. The cut-off effect occurs because the qubit acts as an obstacle for the current in the resonator, which suppresses the current of the modes above [Formula: see text] at the location of the qubit and results in a reduced coupling strength. Using our observed spectrum and theoretical formulas, we estimate that the Lamb shift from the fundamental mode is 82.3% and the total Lamb shift from all the modes is 96.5%. This result illustrates that the coupling to the large number of modes in a CPWR yields an extremely large Lamb shift but does not suppress the qubit energy to zero, which would happen in the absence of a high-frequency cut-off.
Recent measurement on an LC resonator magnetically coupled to a superconducting qubit [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 105 (2010) 237001 ] shows that the system operates in the ultra-strong coupling regime and crosses the limit of validity for the rotating-wave approximation of the Jaynes-Cummings model. By using extended bosonic coherent states, we solve the Jaynes—Cummings model exactly without using the rotating-wave approximation. Our numerically exact results for the spectrum of the flux qubit coupled to the LC resonator are fully consistent with the experimental observations. The smallest Bloch—Siegert shift obtained is consistent with that observed in this experiment. In addition, the Bloch—Siegert shifts in arbitrary level transitions and for arbitrary coupling constants are predicted.
Recent measurement on an LC resonator magnetically coupled to a superconducting qubit[arXiv:1005.1559] shows that the system operates in the ultra-strong coupling regime and crosses the limit of validity for the rotating-wave approximation of the Jaynes-Cummings model. By using extended bosonic coherent states, we solve the Jaynes-Cummings model exactly without the rotating-wave approximation. Our numerically exact results for the spectrum of the flux qubit coupled to the LC resonator are fully consistent with the experimental observations. The smallest Bloch-Siegert shift obtained is consistent with that observed in this experiment. In addition, the Bloch-Siegert shifts in arbitrary level transitions and for arbitrary coupling constants are predicted.
We have observed the coherent exchange of a single energy quantum between a flux qubit and a superconducting LC circuit acting as a quantum harmonic oscillator. The exchange of an energy quantum is known as the vacuum Rabi oscillation: the qubit is oscillating between the excited state and the ground state and the oscillator between the vacuum state and the first excited state. We also show that we can detect the state of the oscillator with the qubit and thereby obtained evidence of level quantization of the LC circuit. Our results support the idea of using oscillators as couplers of solid-state qubits.
We have experimentally studied a superconducting flux qubit strongly coupled to a single mode of a high-quality transmission-type coplanar-waveguide resonator. The qubit-resonator coupling is revealed in the resonator transmission spectrum as a vacuum Rabi splitting. In the dispersive regime the qubit energy levels are spectroscopically probed. We observe a shift in the qubit transition frequency that linearly depends on the number of photons in the resonator, which is attributed to the ac-Zeeman shift. The observations are in agreement with the theoretical predictions.