We investigate how Kerr nonlinearity modifies quantum synchronization in a squeezed quantum van der Pol oscillator. We show that the Kerr interaction produces an amplitude-dependent frequency shift that drives a saddle-node bifurcation, transforming the classical phase-space structure from bistable to monostable dynamics. In the quantum regime, this transition manifests as systematic frequency pulling and spectral broadening, while the steady-state Wigner function reveals a continuous correspondence between the quantum state and the semiclassical attractor despite finite quantum fluctuations. By constructing global synchronization phase diagrams in the squeezing--Kerr parameter space, we uncover a remarkably linear dependence of the critical squeezing strength required to maintain phase locking on the Kerr nonlinearity. We further demonstrate that the synchronization boundary does not coincide with the crossover between super- and sub-Poissonian photon statistics, showing that synchronization and photon-number statistics characterize distinct aspects of the quantum steady state. These results provide quantitative design principles for controlling quantum synchronization through Kerr nonlinearity, with potential relevance to trapped-ion, superconducting-circuit, and optomechanical platforms.
We investigate how Kerr nonlinearity modifies quantum synchronization in a squeezed quantum van der Pol oscillator. We show that the Kerr interaction produces an amplitude-dependent frequency shift that drives a saddle-node bifurcation, transforming the classical phase-space structure from bistable to monostable dynamics. In the quantum regime, this transition manifests as systematic frequency pulling and spectral broadening, while the steady-state Wigner function reveals a continuous correspondence between the quantum state and the semiclassical attractor despite finite quantum fluctuations. By constructing global synchronization phase diagrams in the squeezing--Kerr parameter space, we uncover a remarkably linear dependence of the critical squeezing strength required to maintain phase locking on the Kerr nonlinearity. We further demonstrate that the synchronization boundary does not coincide with the crossover between super- and sub-Poissonian photon statistics, showing that synchronization and photon-number statistics characterize distinct aspects of the quantum steady state. These results provide quantitative design principles for controlling quantum synchronization through Kerr nonlinearity, with potential relevance to trapped-ion, superconducting-circuit, and optomechanical platforms.
We investigate the dynamics of a quadratically coupled system under the influence of an external drive applied to the second oscillator, where the coupling facilitates a high-order synchronization with phase-locking emerging in the form of 2:1 between the oscillators. Our analysis reveals a synchronization blockade in the first oscillator, characterized by the complete suppression of conventional 1:1 phase-locking with the drive. In contrast, we observe that the directly driven second oscillator synchronizes with the drive, showing 1:1 phase-locking but notably at second harmonic frequency. A classical mean-field analysis of the corresponding equations of motion reproduces this asymmetric phase-locking geometry which demonstrates that the phase-locking structure itself can be understood from the nonlinear classical dynamics. The quantum analysis, however, reveals the microscopic origin of the synchronization blockade. Furthermore, we show that the system exhibits mutual synchronization when both the oscillators satisfies the resonance condition, enabling coherent energy exchange facilitated by nonlinear quadratic coupling. The mutual synchronization shows synchronized regimes and also subtle suppression of synchronized regimes near resonance occurring due to spectral splitting of the energy states. Using perturbation analysis of the master equation within the low excitation subspace, we analyze steady-state phase distribution and synchronization measures, supported by population statistics and spectral responses. We also propose possible experimental realizations in trapped-ions and optomechanical setups. These findings highlight the crucial role of quadratic coupling in enabling nonclassical synchronization phenomena, offering deeper insights for quantum control strategies and the development of quantum information platforms.
Classical self-sustained oscillators, which generate periodic motion without periodic external forcing, are ubiquitous in science and technology. The realization of nonclassical self-oscillators is an important goal of quantum physics. We here present the experimental implementation of a quantum van der Pol oscillator, a paradigmatic autonomous quantum driven-dissipative system with nonlinear damping, using a single trapped atom. We demonstrate the existence of a quantum limit cycle in phase space in the absence of a drive and the occurrence of quantum synchronization when the nonlinear oscillator is externally driven. We additionally show that synchronization can be enhanced with the help of squeezing perpendicular to the direction of the drive and, counterintuitively, linear dissipation. We also observe the bifurcation to a bistable phase-space distribution for large squeezing. Our results pave the way for the exploration of self-sustained quantum oscillators and their application to quantum technology.
We study quantum van der Pol oscillator in which single-photon pumping competes with a nonlinear two-photon dissipative channel to produce a quantum limit cycle, and the question of how two such oscillators with non-identical intrinsic frequencies synchronize in the sense of phase locking when coupled dissipatively to one another. For a single oscillator, starting from a Lindblad description of the dynamics, we derive the exact Wigner-function evolution equation, and show that its Fokker--Planck approximation admits in the appropriate regime an equivalent classical Itô stochastic description that reproduces remarkably well the full Lindblad dynamics. Notably, the stochastic approach provides an efficient means of capturing system dynamics in the semiclassical regime, where a large number of energy eigenstates contribute and direct numerical simulations become computationally demanding. Restricting to the three lowest Fock states and using a parity symmetry, we obtain in closed form the stationary-state density matrix and its Wigner-function representation that displays pronounced nonclassical features. For two non-identical oscillators, we study the full Lindblad dynamics numerically and characterize synchronization through the stationary-state order parameter as a function of frequency mismatch and dissipative coupling. We find that increasing the effective nonlinear dissipative strength suppresses the synchronized region. Restricting the two oscillators to the three-level qutrit subspace, a parity symmetry reduces the stationary-state problem to an exact 41-dimensional linear system, allowing to compute the synchronization order parameter. In this reduced description, results in the limit of large dissipation agree closely with those from the full dynamics, while exhibiting in the limit of small dissipation a double-peak synchronization structure accompanied by a phase reversal.
In this thesis we investigate two different aspects of nonlinear dynamical behaviour: First, we study quantum synchronization which is based on nonlinear, so-called limit-cycle oscillators. Second, we investigate the influence of nonlinear interactions on topological transport in bosonic systems. We begin with the investigation of the synchronization of two optomechanical systems in the presence of quantum noise. With numerical simulations of the full quantum and a semiclassical model, we identify different phase synchronization regimes, although exact phase locking is prevented due to the inevitable quantum noise. Our main results are noise-induced transitions between different synchronization states, as well as noise-induced bistability, i.e., the appearance of a second synchronization state in the quantumregime, even if in the classical, noiseless limit only a single stable synchronization state exists. We give an overview about the classical-to-quantumtransition and also compare our findings to synchronization in the presence of classical, thermal noise. Subsequently, we study the quantum synchronization dynamics of a quantum Van der Pol oscillator coupled to an external periodic driving. This paradigm system for limit-cycle oscillators allows us to derive an effective, analytical quantum model and identify the different dynamical regimes, like overdamped, underdamped, and notably also quantum-coherent phase motion. We explore the distinct signatures of these different dynamical regimes, e.g., in the spectrum or the squeezing. Moreover, we show that in the remarkable regime of quantum-coherent phase dynamics quantum states with negative Wigner densities (like Schrödinger cat states) are preserved for many oscillations of the system. Our effective model gives insight into how to achieve quantum coherence in synchronization dynamics, while numerical simulations of the full model confirm the predicted behaviour. Finally, we turn to the classical dynamics of a Chern topological insulator in a nonlinear bosonic system. To this end, we study the half Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang model on a square lattice in the presence of a local Kerr nonlinearity. We investigate the stability of a linear edge state in the nonlinear model and present a linear stability analysis to gain insight into the unstable scattering processes enabled by the nonlinearity. In a time evolution of the full nonlinear model, we can show that these processes lead to a spatially periodic modulation of the edge channel on an intermediate timescale. However, eventually we observe that strong nonlinear processes lead to more complicated behaviour and a significant radiation into the bulk.
Parametrically driven Kerr nonlinear quantum oscillator plays a central role in quantum optics, superconducting circuits, and in engineered light-matter interactions. For the development of future quantum technologies, it is crucial to understand the behavior of this quantum system under realistic dissipative conditions. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the phase-space dynamics of a dissipative Kerr nonlinear oscillator under different driving regimes and corresponding dissipation channels, with a particular focus on the emergence of nonclassical features in phase space. The aim is also to understand how nonlinearity and different driving mechanisms influence quantum properties such as coherence, nonclassicality, and phase-space structure. The analysis was carried out using the Wigner phase-space formalism and numerical simulations of the Lindblad master equation. The results show that in the case of finite nonlinearity the coherence time is prolonged compared to the harmonic case. In the single photon regime, the interplay between the photon drive and nonlinearity can lead to coherence revivals after which the system relaxes into a squeezed steady state. In the two photon and dissipation regime, the system exhibits parity-protected dynamics, leading to very long coherence times.
We implement nonlinear anharmonic interaction in the coupled van der Pol oscillators to investigate the quantum synchronization behavior of the systems. We study the quantum synchronization in two oscillator models, coupled quantum van der Pol oscillators and anharmonic self-oscillators. We demonstrate that the considered systems exhibit a high-order synchronization through coupling in both classical and quantum domains. We show that, due to the anharmonicity of the nonlinear interaction between the oscillators, the system exhibits phonon blockade in the phase-locking regime, which is a pure nonclassical effect and has not been observed in the classical domain. We also demonstrate that, for coupled anharmonic oscillators, the system shows a multiple resonance phase-locking behavior due to nonlinear interaction. We point out that the synchronization blockade arises due to strong anticorrelation between the oscillators, which leads to phonon antibunching in the same parametric regime. In the anharmonic oscillator case we illustrate the simultaneous occurrence of bunching and antibunching effects as a consequence of simultaneous negative and positive correlation between the anharmonic oscillators. We examine the aforementioned characteristic features in the frequency entrainment of the oscillators using a power spectrum where one can observe normal mode splitting and the Mollow triplet in the strong coupling regime. Finally, we propose a possible experimental realization for the considered system in the trapped ion and optomechanical setting.