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arXiv:2203.17147 · Physical Review Letters

Defining the Semiclassical Limit of the Quantum Rabi Hamiltonian

E. K. Twyeffort Irish, Andrew D. Armour

Published Oct 26, 2022• 31 citations
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Abstract

The crossover from quantum to semiclassical behavior in the seminal Rabi model of light-matter interaction still, surprisingly, lacks a complete and rigorous understanding. A formalism for deriving the semiclassical model directly from the quantum Hamiltonian is developed here. Working in a displaced Fock-state basis |α,n⟩, the semiclassical limit is obtained by taking |α|→∞ and the coupling to zero. This resolves the discrepancy between coherent-state dynamics and semiclassical Rabi oscillations in both standard and ultrastrong coupling and driving regimes. Furthermore, it provides a framework for studying the quantum-to-semiclassical transition, with potential applications in quantum technologies.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.129.183603

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The crossover from quantum to semiclassical behavior in the seminal Rabi model of light-matter interaction still, surprisingly, lacks a complete and rigorous understanding. A formalism for deriving the semiclassical model directly from the quantum Hamiltonian is developed here. Working in a displaced Fock-state basis |α,n⟩, the semiclassical limit is obtained by taking |α|→∞ and the coupling to zero. This resolves the discrepancy between coherent-state dynamics and semiclassical Rabi oscillations in both standard and ultrastrong coupling and driving regimes. Furthermore, it provides a framework for studying the quantum-to-semiclassical transition, with potential applications in quantum technologies.
We investigate the emergence of semiclassical dynamics in the quantum Rabi model using a recently developed limiting procedure that formally establishes correspondence with the semiclassical Rabi Hamiltonian [E. K. Twyeffort Irish and A. D. Armour, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 183603 (2022)]. While the limit itself is defined at the Hamiltonian level, how it is reached depends on the choice of quantum states. Defining a set of quantitative measures that capture the differences between quantum and semiclassical dynamics, we examine convergence to the semiclassical limit when the field is prepared in a displaced number state. These states, which interpolate to Fock states for zero displacement, are more general than the set of coherent states usually employed when considering the emergence of semiclassical behavior. Numerical computations of these measures consistently demonstrate the progressive emergence of semiclassical behavior as the joint limit of vanishing coupling and infinite displacement is approached. Complementing the numerical results, analytical approximations are developed that reproduce the behavior in the vicinity of the semiclassical limit with a high degree of fidelity and allow scaling relations to be derived. Although any initial displaced number state will eventually converge to the corresponding semiclassical dynamics as the limit is taken, the rate of convergence depends on the Fock number nnn of the state. States with larger values of nnn, which behave less classically than coherent states, converge more slowly to the limit.
We present a time-dependent variational approach with the multiple-Davydov-D2{\text{D}}_{2}D2​ trial state to simulate the dynamics of light-matter systems when the field is initially in a coherent state with an arbitrary finite mean photon number. The variational approach captures not only the system dynamics but also the field dynamics and is applicable to a variety of quantum models of light-matter interaction such as the Jaynes-Cummings model, Rabi model, and Dicke model and is capable of tackling multimode quantized fields. With a comparison of the variational and semiclassical dynamics of both the system and field, we illustrate that the variational dynamics from the quantum models agrees with those from the corresponding semiclassical models as long as the mean number of photons is sufficiently large. Moreover, we illustrate that in the crossover between the quantum and semiclassical limits, the quantum corrections lead to the collapse of the oscillations in dynamics, which is absent in the semiclassical models. The variational approach provides a unified treatment of light-matter interaction from the quantum to the semiclassical limit.
Semiclassical descriptions of a few-level system coupled to an electromagnetic field mode reduce the field to a time-dependent driving term. Although such methods are widely used, the underlying quantum character of the field generates corrections to the dynamics that can become significant. Here, we develop a general approach for systematically calculating quantum corrections to the time-dependent Floquet dynamics that emerges in the semiclassical description. Taking the Rabi model of a spin-field system as an example, we show how approximate analytical expressions for short-time quantum corrections to the semiclassical dynamics can be obtained. This framework helps explain the emergence of semiclassical behavior, sheds light on collapse and revival dynamics in the Rabi model, and provides a tool for assessing corrections to semiclassical control techniques.
We revisit the analytic solution of the two-qubit quantum Rabi model with inhomogeneous coupling and transition frequencies using a displaced oscillator basis. This approach enables us to apply the same truncation rules and techniques adopted in the Rabi model to the two qubits system. The derived analytical spectra match perfectly with the numerical solutions in the parameter regime where the qubits’ transition frequencies are far off-resonance with the field frequency and the interaction strengths reach the ultrastrong coupling regime. We further explore the dynamical behavior of the two qubits as well as the evolution of entanglement. The analytical methods provide unexpectedly accurate results in describing the dynamics of the two qubits in the present experimentally accessible coupling regime. The time evolutions of the probability for the qubits show that the collapse-revival phenomena emerge, survive and finally disappear when one coupling strength increases from weak to strong coupling regimes and the other coupling strength is well into the ultrastrong coupling regime. The inhomogeneous coupling system exhibits new dynamics, which are different from the homogeneous coupling case.
Ultrastrong coupling (USC) in the quantum Rabi model, characterized by the breakdown of the rotating-wave approximation (RWA) has become a topic of considerable interest and study. This critical reevaluation of the validity of the RWA concludes that the accepted definition of USC in terms of a fixed ratio of coupling to field frequency is inadequate. Connecting an improved spectral validity criterion with the derivation of the semiclassical limit predicts that the dynamical validity of the quantum RWA should be linked to that of the corresponding semiclassical model. This, however, is not supported by numerical calculations of coherent-state dynamics, which unambiguously demonstrate that spectral validity does not imply dynamical validity and reveal surprisingly complicated dependence on coupling and field amplitude.
Ultrastrong coupling (USC) in the quantum Rabi model, characterized by the breakdown of the rotating-wave approximation (RWA), has emerged as a topic of considerable interest and study. This critical reevaluation of the validity of the RWA concludes that the accepted definition of USC in terms of a fixed ratio of coupling to field frequency is inadequate. Connecting an improved spectral validity criterion with the derivation of the semiclassical limit suggests that the dynamical validity of the quantum RWA should be linked to that of the corresponding semiclassical model. This, however, is not supported by numerical calculations of coherent-state dynamics, which unambiguously demonstrate that spectral validity does not imply dynamical validity and reveal surprisingly complicated dependence on coupling and field amplitude.