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arXiv:2608.25742

The Geometric Phase as a Diagnostic for Driven-Dissipative Oscillators

Zeen Sun, Yuan Shen, Haitao Ding, Yuancheng Zhan, Leong-Chuan Kwek

quant-phSubmitted Aug 26, 2026• Announced Aug 27, 2026
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Abstract

Driven-dissipative quantum oscillators lock their phase, deform their limit cycles, and undergo dissipative phase transitions, yet these behaviors are read from unrelated quantities defined on the same steady-state density matrix. We show that a single geometric quantity organizes them. Winding the phase of the drive generates a closed loop of nonequilibrium steady states, and because the Liouvillian is covariant under number rotations, the kinematic mixed-state geometric phase of this loop reduces exactly to an eigensystem functional of a single steady state. Under weak driving, it is governed by the same nearest-neighbor coherences that produce phase locking and inherits the Arnold tongue of synchronization. Near the Hopf threshold, it registers the nonperturbative reorganization of the steady-state eigenvectors. And in the squeezing-driven Kerr resonator, it develops distinct signatures at the first and second order dissipative phase transitions. The geometric phase thus provides a unified and experimentally accessible characterization of steady-state reorganization.

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Driven-dissipative quantum oscillators lock their phase, deform their limit cycles, and undergo dissipative phase transitions, yet these behaviors are read from unrelated quantities defined on the same steady-state density matrix. We show that a single geometric quantity organizes them. Winding the phase of the drive generates a closed loop of nonequilibrium steady states, and because the Liouvillian is covariant under number rotations, the kinematic mixed-state geometric phase of this loop reduces exactly to an eigensystem functional of a single steady state. Under weak driving, it is governed by the same nearest-neighbor coherences that produce phase locking and inherits the Arnold tongue of synchronization. Near the Hopf threshold, it registers the nonperturbative reorganization of the steady-state eigenvectors. And in the squeezing-driven Kerr resonator, it develops distinct signatures at the first and second order dissipative phase transitions. The geometric phase thus provides a unified and experimentally accessible characterization of steady-state reorganization.
We consider a quantum limit-cycle oscillator implemented in a spin system whose quantization axis is slowly rotated. Using a kinematic approach to define geometric phases in nonunitary evolution, we show that the quantum limit-cycle oscillator attains a geometric phase when the rotation is sufficiently slow. In the presence of an external signal, the geometric phase as a function of the signal strength and the detuning between the signal and the natural frequency of oscillation shows a structure that is strikingly similar to the Arnold tongue of synchronization. Surprisingly, this structure vanishes together with the Arnold tongue when the system is in a parameter regime of synchronization blockade. We derive an analytic expression for the geometric phase of this system, valid in the limit of slow rotation of the quantization axis and weak external signal strength, and we provide an intuitive interpretation for this surprising effect.
We investigate nonequilibrium criticality and chaos in a two-photon-driven optomechanical system. The parametric drive preserves a discrete Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ symmetry of the optical field, while radiation-pressure coupling transfers the resulting nonlinear dynamics to a mechanical oscillator. Combining semiclassical stability analysis, exact Liouvillian spectra, and stochastic quantum trajectories, we show that this driven-dissipative optomechanical model supports both first- and second-order dissipative phase transitions. At negative detuning a second-order transition yields spontaneous breaking of the cavity-parity symmetry in the thermodynamic limit. At positive detuning the same symmetry breaking coexists with a first-order transition, signaled by metastability and by an additional symmetric Liouvillian mode. At stronger pump power the mean-field dynamics loses all stable fixed points and develops limit cycles and chaotic attractors with positive Lyapunov exponent. Quantum trajectories in this regime display chaotic-like motion, enhanced steady-state entropy, and delocalization over many entropic Liouvillian modes. These results establish two-photon-driven optomechanics as a platform where dissipative criticality, symmetry breaking, and quantum signatures of chaos emerge within the same experimentally accessible setting.
Dissipative phase transitions (DPTs) are traditionally characterized through the spectrum of a time-independent Liouvillian superoperator. However, this definition does not apply to time-periodic (Floquet) systems that cannot be exactly recast as time-independent problems. Here, we develop a general framework to characterize DPTs in time-periodic open quantum systems through the spectrum of the Floquet propagator. We first study driven-dissipative Kerr resonators, known to display a DPT, showing that counter-rotating terms in the drive shift the critical point and significantly change the time scales associated with the transition. We then investigate DPTs in the driven quantum Rabi model and its time-independent approximation, the driven Jaynes-Cummings model, finding that the Rabi model exhibits distinct critical features as the ultrastrong coupling regime is approached. Moreover, our Floquet analysis unveils the disappearance of the DPT in the deep strong coupling regime, due to light-matter decoupling. Our approach sets the stage for the study of dissipative criticality in a broad class of time-dependent open quantum systems.
Classical thermodynamics admits a geometric formulation in which work is associated with areas enclosed by cycles in state space. Whether an analogous structure persists in driven, dissipative quantum systems remains an open question. Here we show that quasistatic work in open quantum steady states is governed by an emergent geometric curvature in control-parameter space arising from steady-state coherence. For a driven dissipative two-level system, we construct a work one-form whose curvature determines the work produced in cyclic processes. The work vanishes under strong dephasing, identifying coherence as a necessary condition for nontrivial geometry. However, its magnitude is set not by the coherence itself but by the spatial structure of the curvature: cycles enclosing comparable areas produce different work depending on their location in parameter space. Reversing the cycle orientation reverses the sign of the work, confirming its geometric origin. These results establish a geometric framework for open quantum thermodynamics and identify curvature as the organizing principle of thermodynamic response, with direct implications for driven light--matter systems in cavity quantum electrodynamics.
We investigate and characterize the emergence of finite-component dissipative phase transitions (DPTs) in nonlinear photon resonators subject to n -photon driving and dissipation. Exploiting a semiclassical approach, we derive general results on the occurrence of second-order DPTs in this class of systems. We show that for all odd n , no second-order DPT can occur while, for even n , the competition between higher-order nonlinearities determines the nature of the criticality and allows for second-order DPTs to emerge only for n = 2 and n = 4 . As pivotal examples, we study the full quantum dynamics of three- and four-photon driven-dissipative Kerr resonators, confirming the prediction of the semiclassical analysis on the nature of the transitions. The stability of the vacuum and the typical timescales needed to access the different phases are also discussed. We also show a first-order DPT where multiple solutions emerge around zero, low, and high-photon numbers. Our results highlight the crucial role played by s t r o n g and w e a k symmetries in triggering critical behaviors, providing a Liouvillian framework to study the effects of high-order nonlinear processes in driven-dissipative systems, that can be applied to problems in quantum sensing and information processing.