Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical review. E

Nonlinear parametric oscillator: A tool for probing quantum fluctuations

Prasun Sarkar, Jayanta K. Bhattacharjee

Published Nov 4, 2020• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Nanomechanical oscillators have, over the last few years, started probing regimes where quantum fluctuations are important. Here we consider a nonlinear parametric oscillator in the quantum domain. We show that in the classical subharmonic resonance zone, the quantum fluctuations are finite but greatly magnified depending on the strength of the nonlinear coupling. This should make such oscillators useful in probing quantum fluctuations.

DOI
10.1103/physreve.102.052204

Related papers

Quantum fluctuations in the optical parametric oscillator in the limit of a fast decaying subharmonic mode

Oliver Veits, Michael Fleischhauer

The quantum fluctuations in a nondegenerate optical parametric oscillator are calculated without the standard linearization assumption. Analytical results are obtained with the help of a mean-field approximation, which is exact in the limit of a fast decaying subharmonic mode. This approach is equivalent to a linearization around a self-consistently determined pump field amplitude that takes into account fluctuations of the subharmonic mode. The range of validity of the mean-field approximation is analyzed, and the influence of the system size on field amplitudes and squeezing is discussed.

Physical Review A•Dec 1, 1995•12 citations

Probing Tiny Motions of Nanomechanical Resonators: Classical or Quantum Mechanical?

L. F. Wei, Yu-xi Liu, C. P. Sun +1 more

We propose a spectroscopic approach to probe tiny vibrations of a nanomechanical resonator (NAMR), which may reveal classical or quantum behavior depending on the decoherence-inducing environment. Our proposal is based on the detection of the voltage-fluctuation spectrum in a superconducting transmission line resonator (TLR), which is indirectly coupled to the NAMR via a controllable Josephson qubit acting as a quantum transducer. The classical (quantum mechanical) vibrations of the NAMR induce symmetric (asymmetric) Stark shifts of the qubit levels, which can be measured by the voltage fluctuations in the TLR. Thus, the motion of the NAMR, including if it is quantum mechanical or not, could be probed by detecting the voltage-fluctuation spectrum of the TLR.

arXiv:quant-ph/0601042•Physical Review Letters•Dec 4, 2006•105 citations

Quantum Dynamics of a Few-Photon Parametric Oscillator

Zhaoyou Wang, Marek Pechal, E. Alex Wollack +4 more

Experiments demonstrate a quantum parametric oscillator, a device with great potential in quantum error correction. Its minimal hardware design makes it a suitable building block for scalable quantum computing.

arXiv:1901.09171•Physical Review X•Jun 7, 2019•112 citations

Degenerate parametric oscillator

P. D. Drummond, Mark S. Hillery

The optical parametric oscillator is one of the most well-characterized devices in nonlinear optics, with many useful applications, especially as a frequency converter and as a wide-band amplifier. Novel discoveries made with these devices in the quantum domain include demonstrations of large amounts of both single-mode and two-mode squeezing, and, in the two-mode case, significant quantum intensity correlations between the two modes and quadrature correlations, which provided the first experimental demonstration of the original Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) paradox. In this chapter, a systematic theory is developed of quantum fluctuations in the degenerate parametric oscillator. The quantum statistical effects produced by the degenerate parametric amplifier and oscillator have been intensely studied. As we have seen, the amount of transient squeezing produced in an ideal lossless parametric amplifier was calculated using asymptotic methods by Crouch and Braunstein. It was found to scale inversely with the square root of the initial pump photon number. When the system is put into a cavity, and driving and dissipation are introduced, we find that the steady state of a driven degenerate parametric oscillator bifurcates. There is a single steady state at low driving strengths, but, as the driving field increases, a threshold value is reached and the single state splits and forms two stable states. Below the threshold, a linearized analysis of squeezing in the quantum quadratures is possible; while above this threshold, or critical point, the tunneling time between the two states due to quantum fluctuations can be calculated.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Mar 27, 2014•0 citations

Non-Gaussian states produced by close-to-threshold optical parametric oscillators: Role of classical and quantum fluctuations

Virginia D’Auria, Corrado de Lisio, A. Porzio +3 more

Quantum states with non-Gaussian statistics generated by optical parametric oscillators (OPO) with fluctuating parameters are studied by means of the kurtosis excess of the external field quadratures. The field generated is viewed as the response of a nonlinear device to the fluctuations of pump laser amplitude and frequency, crystal temperature, and cavity detuning, in addition to quantum noise sources. The kurtosis excess has been evaluated perturbatively up to the third order in the strength of the crystal nonlinear coupling factor and the second order in the classical fluctuating parameters. Applied to the device described in Opt. Expr. 13, 948 (2005), the model has given values of the kurtosis excess in good agreement with the measured ones.

arXiv:0907.3825•Physical Review A•Mar 29, 2010•27 citations

Parametric oscillators based on superconducting circuits

Christopher M. Wilson, T. Duty, Per Delsing

A parametric oscillator is an oscillating system in which one of the parameters, typically either the resonance frequency or damping, can be modulated by an external pump. Parametric oscillations can be found in a wide variety of systems including radiofrequency circuits, optical and mechanical systems, and even single electrons in a Penning trap. In recent years, interest in parametric oscillators has revived in many areas of physics, ranging from basic physics to applications. For instance, they are being used as quantum-limited amplifiers in an increasingly large number of experiments in quantum information and computing. At the same time, interest in their basic physics in the quantum regime, in which they are a model system for driven, nonlinear systems, has grown commensurately. This chapter gives a largely self-contained introduction to the theoretical description of the dynamics of parametric oscillators, both classical and quantum, and reviews some of the recent experimental work in superconducting circuits.

Oxford University Press eBooks•Jul 26, 2012•3 citations
Nanomechanical oscillators have, over the last few years, started probing regimes where quantum fluctuations are important. Here we consider a nonlinear parametric oscillator in the quantum domain. We show that in the classical subharmonic resonance zone, the quantum fluctuations are finite but greatly magnified depending on the strength of the nonlinear coupling. This should make such oscillators useful in probing quantum fluctuations.
The quantum fluctuations in a nondegenerate optical parametric oscillator are calculated without the standard linearization assumption. Analytical results are obtained with the help of a mean-field approximation, which is exact in the limit of a fast decaying subharmonic mode. This approach is equivalent to a linearization around a self-consistently determined pump field amplitude that takes into account fluctuations of the subharmonic mode. The range of validity of the mean-field approximation is analyzed, and the influence of the system size on field amplitudes and squeezing is discussed.
We propose a spectroscopic approach to probe tiny vibrations of a nanomechanical resonator (NAMR), which may reveal classical or quantum behavior depending on the decoherence-inducing environment. Our proposal is based on the detection of the voltage-fluctuation spectrum in a superconducting transmission line resonator (TLR), which is indirectly coupled to the NAMR via a controllable Josephson qubit acting as a quantum transducer. The classical (quantum mechanical) vibrations of the NAMR induce symmetric (asymmetric) Stark shifts of the qubit levels, which can be measured by the voltage fluctuations in the TLR. Thus, the motion of the NAMR, including if it is quantum mechanical or not, could be probed by detecting the voltage-fluctuation spectrum of the TLR.
The optical parametric oscillator is one of the most well-characterized devices in nonlinear optics, with many useful applications, especially as a frequency converter and as a wide-band amplifier. Novel discoveries made with these devices in the quantum domain include demonstrations of large amounts of both single-mode and two-mode squeezing, and, in the two-mode case, significant quantum intensity correlations between the two modes and quadrature correlations, which provided the first experimental demonstration of the original Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) paradox. In this chapter, a systematic theory is developed of quantum fluctuations in the degenerate parametric oscillator. The quantum statistical effects produced by the degenerate parametric amplifier and oscillator have been intensely studied. As we have seen, the amount of transient squeezing produced in an ideal lossless parametric amplifier was calculated using asymptotic methods by Crouch and Braunstein. It was found to scale inversely with the square root of the initial pump photon number. When the system is put into a cavity, and driving and dissipation are introduced, we find that the steady state of a driven degenerate parametric oscillator bifurcates. There is a single steady state at low driving strengths, but, as the driving field increases, a threshold value is reached and the single state splits and forms two stable states. Below the threshold, a linearized analysis of squeezing in the quantum quadratures is possible; while above this threshold, or critical point, the tunneling time between the two states due to quantum fluctuations can be calculated.
Quantum states with non-Gaussian statistics generated by optical parametric oscillators (OPO) with fluctuating parameters are studied by means of the kurtosis excess of the external field quadratures. The field generated is viewed as the response of a nonlinear device to the fluctuations of pump laser amplitude and frequency, crystal temperature, and cavity detuning, in addition to quantum noise sources. The kurtosis excess has been evaluated perturbatively up to the third order in the strength of the crystal nonlinear coupling factor and the second order in the classical fluctuating parameters. Applied to the device described in Opt. Expr. 13, 948 (2005), the model has given values of the kurtosis excess in good agreement with the measured ones.
A parametric oscillator is an oscillating system in which one of the parameters, typically either the resonance frequency or damping, can be modulated by an external pump. Parametric oscillations can be found in a wide variety of systems including radiofrequency circuits, optical and mechanical systems, and even single electrons in a Penning trap. In recent years, interest in parametric oscillators has revived in many areas of physics, ranging from basic physics to applications. For instance, they are being used as quantum-limited amplifiers in an increasingly large number of experiments in quantum information and computing. At the same time, interest in their basic physics in the quantum regime, in which they are a model system for driven, nonlinear systems, has grown commensurately. This chapter gives a largely self-contained introduction to the theoretical description of the dynamics of parametric oscillators, both classical and quantum, and reviews some of the recent experimental work in superconducting circuits.