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arXiv:2201.03976 · Physical Review A

Energy cat states induced by a parity-breaking excited-state quantum phase transition

Ángel L. Corps, Armando Relaño

Published May 9, 2022• 16 citations
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Abstract

We show that excited-state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) in a system in which the parity symmetry is broken can be used to engineer an energy cat state---a Schr\"odinger cat state involving a quantum superposition of both different positions and energies. By means of a generalization of the Rabi model, we show that adding a parity-breaking term annihilates the ground-state quantum phase transition between normal and superradiant phases, and induces the formation of three excited-state phases, all of them identified by means of an observable with two eigenvalues. In one of these phases, level crossings are observed in the thermodynamic limit. These allow us to separate a wave function into two parts: one, with lower energy, trapped within one region of the spectrum, and a second one, with higher energy, trapped within another. Finally, we show that a generalized microcanonical ensemble, including two different average energies, is required to properly describe equilibrium states in this situation. Our results illustrate yet another physical consequence of ESQPTs.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.105.052204

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We show that excited-state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) in a system in which the parity symmetry is broken can be used to engineer an energy cat state---a Schr"odinger cat state involving a quantum superposition of both different positions and energies. By means of a generalization of the Rabi model, we show that adding a parity-breaking term annihilates the ground-state quantum phase transition between normal and superradiant phases, and induces the formation of three excited-state phases, all of them identified by means of an observable with two eigenvalues. In one of these phases, level crossings are observed in the thermodynamic limit. These allow us to separate a wave function into two parts: one, with lower energy, trapped within one region of the spectrum, and a second one, with higher energy, trapped within another. Finally, we show that a generalized microcanonical ensemble, including two different average energies, is required to properly describe equilibrium states in this situation. Our results illustrate yet another physical consequence of ESQPTs.
The Rabi model, a two-level atom coupled to a harmonic oscillator, can undergo a second-order quantum phase transition (QPT) [M.-J. Hwang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 180404 (2015)]. Here we show that the Rabi QPT accompanies critical behavior in the higher-energy excited states, i.e., the excited-state QPT (ESQPT). We derive analytic expressions for the semiclassical density of states, which show a logarithmic divergence at a critical energy eigenvalue in the broken symmetry (superradiant) phase. Moreover, we find that the logarithmic singularities in the density of states lead to singularities in the relevant observables in the system such as photon number and atomic polarization. We corroborate our analytical semiclassical prediction of the ESQPT in the Rabi model with its numerically exact quantum mechanical solution.
We propose concrete protocols to realize quantum criticality due to excited-state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) experimentally in presumably the simplest and most resilient system involving a single trapped ion oscillating in a radio-frequency Paul trap. We identify a specific class of excited states of the Extended Rabi Model (ERM) Hamiltonian, which occur between two critical ESQPT energies of the model in its (anti)Jaynes-Cummings superradiant phase. Properties of these states motivate the definition of several ESQPT witness observables. We study their critical scaling behaviors as well as various distinct state evolutions by driving the system across the quantum criticalities by changing the qubit-phonon coupling strength linearly in time at different finite rates. A mapping of the theoretical control parameters of the ERM to the experimental parameters of a trapped ion setup is provided, and simulations are performed for values referencing existing state-of-the-art setups, addressing both unitary state evolutions as well as relevant open-system corrections.
We propose that a broad class of excited-state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) gives rise to two different excited-state quantum phases. These phases are identified by means of an operator C[over ^], which is a constant of motion in only one of them. Hence, the ESQPT critical energy splits the spectrum into one phase where the equilibrium expectation values of physical observables crucially depend on this constant of motion and another phase where the energy is the only relevant thermodynamic magnitude. The trademark feature of this operator is that it has two different eigenvalues ±1, and, therefore, it acts as a discrete symmetry in the first of these two phases. This scenario is observed in systems with and without an additional discrete symmetry; in the first case, C[over ^] explains the change from degenerate doublets to nondegenerate eigenlevels upon crossing the critical line. We present stringent numerical evidence in the Rabi and Dicke models, suggesting that this result is exact in the thermodynamic limit, with finite-size corrections that decrease as a power law.
We study the thermodynamics of the full version of the Dicke model, including all the possible values of the total angular momentum j, with both microcanonical and canonical ensembles. We focus on both the excited-state quantum phase transition, appearing in the microcanonical description of the maximum angular momentum sector, j=N/2, and the thermal phase transition, which occurs when all the sectors are taken into account. We show that two different features characterize the full version of the Dicke model. If the system is in contact with a thermal bath and is described by means of the canonical ensemble, the parity symmetry becomes spontaneously broken at the critical temperature. In the microcanonical ensemble, and despite that all the logarithmic singularities which characterize the excited-state quantum phase transition are ruled out when all the j sectors are considered, there still exists a critical energy (or temperature) dividing the spectrum into two regions: one in which the parity symmetry can be broken, and another in which this symmetry is always well defined.
Abstract The thermodynamical properties of a generalized Dicke model are calculated and related with the critical properties of its energy spectrum, namely the quantum phase transitions (QPT) and excited state quantum phase transitions (ESQPT). The thermal properties are calculated both in the canonical and the microcanonical ensembles. The latter deduction allows for an explicit description of the relation between thermal and energy spectrum properties. While in an isolated system the subspaces with different pseudospin are disconnected, and the whole energy spectrum is accessible, in the statistical ensemble the situation is radically different. The multiplicity of the lowest energy states for each pseudospin completely dominates the thermal behavior, making the set of degenerate states with the smallest pseudospin at a given energy the only ones playing a role in the thermal properties. As a result, the states in the region with positive thermal energy cannot be thermally populated because their negligible probability, making that energy region thermally unreachable at finite temperatures. The quantum phase transitions of the lowest energy states, from a normal to a superradiant phase, produce the thermal transition. The other critical phenomena, the ESQPTs occurring at excited energies, have no manifestation in the thermodynamics, although their effects could be seen in finite size corrections. A new superradiant phase is found, which only exists in the generalized model, and can be relevant in finite size systems.
In this work, the anisotropic variant of the quantum Rabi model with different coupling strengths of the rotating and counterrotating wave terms is studied by the Bogoliubov operator approach. The anisotropy preserves the parity symmetry of the original model. We derive the corresponding GGG-function, which yields both the regular and exceptional eigenvalues. The exceptional eigenvalues correspond to the crossing points of two energy levels with different parities, and they are doubly degenerate. We find analytically that the ground state and the first excited state can cross several times, indicating multiple first-order phase transitions as a function of the coupling strength. These crossing points are related to manifest parity symmetry of the Hamiltonian, in contrast to the level crossings in the asymmetric quantum Rabi model, which are caused by a hidden symmetry.