We investigate a quantum-circuit analog of the dynamical Casimir effect discussed in cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). A double superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), consisting of a superconducting loop interrupted by a dc-SQUID, is regarded as a harmonic oscillator with a time-dependent frequency imitating the nonadiabatic boundaries in a cavity QED. Squeezing occurs due to parametric processes inherent in the system. We reformulate squeezing based on the Bogoliubov transformation between eigenstates at different times and derive the analytic formula for quantum-state evolutions of the system. The squeezing parameter clearly reveals the relationship between squeezing and nonadiabatic nature of the system. Thus, the squeezing parameter serves as a measure for the dynamical Casimir effect. We demonstrate squeezing for two types of frequency modulation and propose a method for measuring squeezing by using a circuit QED technique under coherent oscillations between an artificial atom and an LC circuit in the presence of dissipation. These observations suggest that a quantum circuit with a Josephson junction is a promising candidate for detecting the dynamical Casimir effect.
We investigate a quantum-circuit analog of the dynamical Casimir effect discussed in cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). A double superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), consisting of a superconducting loop interrupted by a dc-SQUID, is regarded as a harmonic oscillator with a time-dependent frequency imitating the nonadiabatic boundaries in a cavity QED. Squeezing occurs due to parametric processes inherent in the system. We reformulate squeezing based on the Bogoliubov transformation between eigenstates at different times and derive the analytic formula for quantum-state evolutions of the system. The squeezing parameter clearly reveals the relationship between squeezing and nonadiabatic nature of the system. Thus, the squeezing parameter serves as a measure for the dynamical Casimir effect. We demonstrate squeezing for two types of frequency modulation and propose a method for measuring squeezing by using a circuit QED technique under coherent oscillations between an artificial atom and an LC circuit in the presence of dissipation. These observations suggest that a quantum circuit with a Josephson junction is a promising candidate for detecting the dynamical Casimir effect.
We investigate the nonstationary boundary effect for a quantum flux in a double rf-SQUID system. In a superconducting ring interrupted by a dc-SQUID (so-called double rf-SQUID), the Josephson potential can be controlled by the magnetic flux through the dc-SQUID ring. This system is equivalent to an anharmonic oscillator with a time-dependent frequency. A rapid change of the magnetic flux in the dc-SQUID leads to the nonadiabatic mixing of the quantum states for a quantum flux in a double rf-SQUID. Therefore, this becomes a circuit analogue of the dynamical Casimir effect in quantum field theory. We perform numerical calculations for the quantum state evolution of the quantum flux within a harmonic approximation, taking account of the nonadiabatic effect. We found that the resulting state distribution has a super-Poissonian character that reflects flux squeezing caused by the Bogoliubov transformation between eigenstates at different times.
We proposed a quantum-circuit analog of dynamical Casimir effect by using a superconducting quantum circuit. The proposed system can be regarded as a time-dependent harmonic oscillator, resulting in squeezing of a quantum flux trapped in the system. Here we develop our theory taking into account finite temperatures, in order to contact with experiments like circuit-QED. We present numerical results of occupation probability distributions produced by non-stationary boundary effect at various temperatures.
We theoretically investigate the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) in electrical circuits based on superconducting microfabricated waveguides with tunable boundary conditions. We propose implementing a rapid modulation of the boundary conditions by tuning the applied magnetic flux through superconducting quantum-interference devices that are embedded in the waveguide circuits. We consider two circuits: (i) An open waveguide circuit that corresponds to a single mirror in free space, and (ii) a resonator coupled to a microfabricated waveguide, which corresponds to a single-sided cavity in free space. We analyze the properties of the DCE in these two setups by calculating the generated photon-flux densities, output-field correlation functions, and the quadrature squeezing spectra. We show that these properties of the output field exhibit signatures unique to the radiation due to the DCE, and could, therefore, be used for distinguishing the DCE from other types of radiation in these circuits. We also discuss the similarities and differences between the DCE, in the resonator setup, and the down-conversion of pump photons in parametric oscillators.
In recent years, superconducting circuits have come to the forefront of certain areas of physics. They have shown to be particularly useful in research related to quantum computing and information, as well as fundamental physics. This is largely because they provide a very flexible way to implement complicated quantum systems that can be relatively easily manipulated and measured. In this thesis we look at three different applications where superconducting circuits play a central role, and explore their classical and quantum dynamics and behavior. \n \nThe first part consists of studying the Casimir [Proc. K. Ned. Akad. Wet (1948)] and Casimir-Polder like [Physical Review 73, 4 (1948)]effects. These effects have been discovered in 1948 and show that under certain conditions, vacuum field fluctuations can mediate forces between neutral objects. In our work, we analyze analogous behavior in a superconducting system which consists of a stripline cavity with a DC-SQUID on one of its boundaries, as well as, in a Casimir-Polder case, a charge qubit coupled to the field of the cavity. Instead of a force, in the system considered here, we show that the Casimir and Casimir-Polder like effects are mediated through a circulating current around the loop of the boundary DC-SQUID. Using detailed analysis, we examine how the values of these currents change as we vary different physical circuit parameters. We show that for the set of physical parameters that can be easily obtained experimentally, the Casimir and Casimir-Polder currents can be of the order of 10^(-8) A and 10^(-13) A respectively. \n \nIn the second part, we theoretically model an experiment which was performed by Britton Plourde's group at Syracuse University, and which studied the transient dynamics of a nonlinear superconducting oscillator, based on a capacitively shunted DC-SQUID. Such DC-SQUID oscillators are used in many areas of physics and engineering, for example, as building blocks of amplifiers or qubits, qubit couplers, or as sensitive magnetic field detectors. In many of these situations, their steady state behavior is often considered, while in the experiment performed at Syracuse, of specific interest, was the response of a DC-SQUID oscillator to a short radiation that only briefly excited the system. In this thesis, we simulate this response at the experimental temperature, by numerically solving a set of classical stochastic differential equations that mimic the behavior of the circuit. This is done for different settings of the flux that is threaded through the DC-SQUID as well as different input pulse amplitudes. Furthermore, we briefly outline just how these kinds of brief excitations could be useful when applied in flux measurement protocols. We find that our simulations show good agreement with the experimentally obtained data. \n \nThe final part considered in this thesis, looks at the dynamics of a qubit coupled to a measuring probe, which is modeled as a harmonic oscillator. An example superconducting circuit, that could be used to implement such a setup, consists of a flux qubit inductively coupled to a DC-SQUID. This measurement scenario has already been explored in [Phys. Rev. B 78, 5 (2008)], but there, the authors only consider very short interaction times between the DC-SQUID and the qubit. Here, in contrast, we concentrate our efforts on studying the evolution of qubit as the measurement takes place, by solving the corresponding Lindblad master equation, but over longer measurement times. This is done by calculating the measurement induced dephasing rate of the qubit, as well as, discussing its sometimes present effective relaxation, in regimes where the measurement is considered to not be quantum non-demolition (QND). Finally, we briefly explore how well a potentially complicated evolution of the qubit can be approximated as a very simple Kraus map.
In this thesis I present different experiments on superconducting circuits exploring parametric interactions with external signals and the vacuum in the microwave regime. These parametric processes are the result of the periodic modulation of a property of a system which results in different interactions. The systems used in this thesis are circuits where the nonlinear inductance of a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) is parametrically driven.I present the first experimental observation of the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE), since it was predicted in 1970. The DCE is an interaction between the vacuum and a periodically modulated boundary condition of the electromagnetic field, here implemented by a flux-tuned SQUID. In essence the modulated boundary will parametrically amplify the vacuum fluctuations which results in the pairwise generation of photons over a broad frequency range. I have characterized the system and measured the statistical properties of the emitted radiation to show that the radiation exhibits two-mode squeezing.Next, I present measurements on a superconducting multimode resonator containing a SQUID. I show that it is possible to get parametric amplification by driving the SQUID at either twice the frequency of one of the modes or by driving it at the sum of two mode frequencies. In both cases I show that it is possible to reach quantum-limited noise performance.In the same system I also demonstrate frequency conversion which occurs when the system is pumped at the difference frequency between two modes. Microwave photons are coherently transferred from one mode to the other. I show that the coupling strength depends linearly on the applied pump amplitude.The thesis also contains a linearized theoretical model to describe and analyze the flux-pumped SQUID. The model describes an equivalent circuit element called the pumpistor, with an impedance which depends on the pump phase. I show that under specific conditions the impedance becomes real and negative allowing pump power to be injected into the circuit, providing gain.Finally I also present a demonstration of an on-chip Mach-Zehnder interferometer. This experiment uses the tunability of the SQUID to provide a controllable phase shift in one of the interferometer arms. The transmission through the device can be modulated with a maximum change of 45 dB.
In this work we study simulations of photon generation due to the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) in a one-dimensional ( 1 + 1 ) double superconducting cavity. To achieve this, we propose the use of a superconducting quantum circuit so as to be able to experimentally perform quantum simulations of the DCE. The simulated cavity consists of two perfectly conducting mirrors and a dielectric membrane of infinitesimal depth that effectively couples two cavities. The total length of the double cavity L , the difference in length between the two cavities Δ L , and the electric susceptibility χ and conductivity v of the dielectric membrane are tunable parameters. All four parameters are treated as independent and are allowed to be tuned at the same time, even with different frequencies. We analyze the cavity's energy spectra under different conditions, finding a transition between two distinct regimes that is accurately described by k c = v / χ . In particular, a lowest-energy mode is forbidden in one of the regimes while it is allowed in the other. We compare analytical approximations obtained through the multiple-scale analysis method with exact numerical solutions, obtaining the typical results when χ is not being tuned. However, when the susceptibility χ is tuned, different behaviors (such as oscillations in the number of photons of a cavity prepared in a vacuum state) can arise if the frequencies and amplitudes of all parameters are adequate. These oscillations might be considered as adiabatic shortcuts where all generated photons are eventually destroyed.