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arXiv:1809.09737 · Quantum

Finite-size scaling of the photon-blockade breakdown dissipative quantum phase transition

András Vukics, A. Dombi, J. M. Fink, P. Domokos

Published Jun 3, 2019• 22 citations
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Abstract

We prove that the observable telegraph signal accompanying the bistability in the photon-blockade-breakdown regime of the driven and lossy Jaynes–Cummings model is the finite-size precursor of what in the thermodynamic limit is a genuine first-order phase transition. We construct a finite-size scaling of the system parameters to a well-defined thermodynamic limit, in which the system remains the same microscopic system, but the telegraph signal becomes macroscopic both in its timescale and intensity. The existence of such a finite-size scaling completes and justifies the classification of the photon-blockade-breakdown effect as a first-order dissipative quantum phase transition.

DOI
10.22331/q-2019-06-03-150

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We prove that the observable telegraph signal accompanying the bistability in the photon-blockade-breakdown regime of the driven and lossy Jaynes–Cummings model is the finite-size precursor of what in the thermodynamic limit is a genuine first-order phase transition. We construct a finite-size scaling of the system parameters to a well-defined thermodynamic limit, in which the system remains the same microscopic system, but the telegraph signal becomes macroscopic both in its timescale and intensity. The existence of such a finite-size scaling completes and justifies the classification of the photon-blockade-breakdown effect as a first-order dissipative quantum phase transition.
The photon blockade breakdown in a continuously driven cavity QED system has been proposed as a prime example for a first-order driven-dissipative quantum phase transition. However, the predicted scaling from a microscopic behavior—dominated by quantum fluctuations—to a macroscopic one—characterized by stable phases—and the associated exponents and phase diagram have not been observed so far. In this work we couple a single transmon qubit with a fixed coupling strength g to a superconducting cavity that is bandwidth κ tunable to controllably approach this thermodynamic limit. Even though the system remains microscopic, we observe its behavior becoming increasingly macroscopic as a function of g / κ . For the highest realized g / κ of approximately 287 , the system switches with a characteristic timescale as long as 6 s between a bright coherent state with approximately 8 × 10 3 intracavity photons and the vacuum state. This exceeds the microscopic timescales by 6 orders of magnitude and approaches the perfect hysteresis expected between two macroscopic attractors in the thermodynamic limit. These findings and interpretation are qualitatively supported by neoclassical theory and large-scale quantum-jump Monte Carlo simulations. Besides shedding more light on driven-dissipative physics in the limit of strong light-matter coupling, this system might also find applications in quantum sensing and metrology. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
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We follow the passage from complex amplitude bistability to phase bistability in the driven dissipative Jaynes-Cummings oscillator. Quasi -distribution functions in the steady state are employed, for varying qubit-cavity detuning and drive parameters, in order to track a first-order dissipative quantum phase transition up to the critical point marking a second-order transition and spontaneous symmetry breaking. We demonstrate the photon blockade breakdown in the dispersive regime, and find that the coexistence of cavity states in the regime of quantum bistability is accompanied by pronounced qubit-cavity entanglement. Focusing on the effect of quantum-activated switching for both coupled degrees of freedom, we move from a region of minimal entanglement in the dispersive regime, where we derive analytical perturbative results, to the threshold behaviour of spontaneous dressed-state polarization at resonance.
We approach the strong-coupling thermodynamic limit in the response of the open driven Jaynes-Cummings (JC) oscillator. We do so by highlighting the role of quantum fluctuations against the semiclassical response in three distinct regimes of operation. We begin by demonstrating the persistence of photon blockade, predicted in Carmichael [Phys. Rev. X 5, 031028 (2015)], as a manifestation of the inherently quantum and nonlinear JC spectrum revealed for vanishing dissipation. We then proceed to discuss the importance of bistability, which, despite being present in photon blockades, is able to provide an alignment between the semiclassical nonlinearity and quantum dynamics only for a driving amplitude having the same order of magnitude as the light-matter coupling strength. This resolution brings us to the critical point of the well-known quantum-phase transition of second order on resonance, where the quantum and semiclassical pictures are once more contrasted for a varying participation of the two coherent interactions when going through the collapse of the quasienergy spectrum.