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Chaos Solitons & Fractals

Coupled quantum pendula as a possible model for Josephson-junction-based axion detection

Roberto Grimaudo, Davide Valenti, Giovanni Filatrella, Bernardo Spagnolo, Claudio Guarcello

Published Jul 10, 2023• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The model of two coupled quantum pendula is studied and its suitability to describe Josephson junctions interacting with axions is analysed. It is shown that some physical features of one pendulum, not directly accessible, can be deduced by local measures on the other one, which is experimentally available. Such an effect can be exploited for the axion (the invisible pendulum) detection based on Josephson junctions (the accessible pendulum). The interaction between axion and Josephson junction can be enhanced at the resonance, if the axion and the junction frequencies match, and if the accessible system is prepared in the most convenient initial quantum state.

DOI
10.1016/j.chaos.2023.113745

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The model of two coupled quantum pendula is studied and its suitability to describe Josephson junctions interacting with axions is analysed. It is shown that some physical features of one pendulum, not directly accessible, can be deduced by local measures on the other one, which is experimentally available. Such an effect can be exploited for the axion (the invisible pendulum) detection based on Josephson junctions (the accessible pendulum). The interaction between axion and Josephson junction can be enhanced at the resonance, if the axion and the junction frequencies match, and if the accessible system is prepared in the most convenient initial quantum state.
An effective quantum description of the axion is proposed as a two-level dynamic system together with a spin-spin Hamiltonian for a coupled axion-Josephson qubit system. The interaction between axion and Josephson Junction can be responsible for a resonance effect, when the axion and the Josephson frequencies match. Thus, experimentally detectable oscillations induced in the Josephson qubit by its interaction with the axion are clearly highlighted. This phenomenon, causing a periodic magnetization reversal in the junction, can be exploited for the axion detection in the quantum limit of low noise.
Abstract Josephson junctions, in appropriate configurations, can be excellent candidates for detection of single photons in the microwave frequency band. Such possibility has been recently addressed in the framework of galactic axion detection. Here are reported recent developments in the modelling and simulation of dynamic behaviour of a Josephson junction single microwave photon detector. For a Josephson junction to be enough sensitive, small critical currents and operating temperatures of the order of ten of mK are necessary. Thermal and quantum tunnelling out of the zero-voltage state can also mask the detection process. Axion detection would require dark count rates in the order of 0.001 Hz. It is, therefore, is of paramount importance to identify proper device fabrication parameters and junction operation point.
We study an atomic Josephson junction (AJJ) in the presence of two interacting Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) confined in a double-well trap. We assume that bosons of different species interact with each other. The macroscopic wavefunctions of the two components obey a system of two 3D coupled Gross–Pitaevskii equations (GPEs). We write the Lagrangian of the system, and from this we derive a system of coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs), for which the coupled pendula represent the mechanical analogues. These differential equations control the dynamical behaviour of the fractional imbalance and of the relative phase of each bosonic component. We perform the stability analysis around the points which preserve the symmetry and get an analytical formula for the oscillation frequency around the stable points. Such a formula could be used as an indirect measure of the inter-species s-wave scattering length. We also study the oscillations of each fractional imbalance around zero and nonzero—the macroscopic quantum self-trapping (MQST)—time averaged values. For different values of the inter-species interaction amplitude, we carry out this study both by directly solving the two GPEs and by solving the corresponding coupled pendula equations. We show that, under certain conditions, the predictions of these two approaches are in good agreement. Moreover, we calculate the crossover value of the inter-species interaction amplitude which signals the onset of MQST.
There exists an increasing evidence supporting the picture of the Josephson junction (JJ) as a "macroscopic quantum system". On the other hand the interpretation of experimental data strongly depends on the assumed theoretical model. We analyse the possible states of a Cooper pair box ("charge qubit") for the two types of models : two-mode Bose-Hubbard model with its large NNN aproximations and the many-body description within the mean-field approximation (Gross-Pitaevski equation). While the first class of models supports the picture of JJ being a quantum subsystem of a single degree of freedom, the second approach yields an essentially classical structure of accessible quantum states which, in particular, implies the absence of entanglement for two coupled JJ's. The arguments in favor of the mean-field theory are presented and different experimental tests including a new proposal are briefly discussed.
We present an analytical description of the tunneling dynamics between two coupled Bose-Einstein condensates in the Josephson regime. The model relies on the classical analogy with a rigid pendulum and focuses on two dynamical modes of this system: Josephson oscillations and macroscopic quantum self-trapping. The analogy is extended to include an energy difference between the two superfluids caused by an asymmetry in the trapping potential. The model is compatible with the mean-field predictions of the two-mode Bose-Hubbard model. It gives insights on the mean-field model by involving experimentally measurable parameters with reduced correlations. For agreement with recent experimental observations, we establish heuristic formulas including a dissipation. We conclude with a convincing application of the model to several sets of experimental results.
It is shown that the classical dynamics of 1:1 resonance interaction between two identical linearly coupled Duffing oscillators is equivalent to the symmetric (non-biased) case of `macroscopic' quantum dynamics of two weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates. The analogy develops through the boson Josephson junction equations, however, reduced to a single conservative energy partition (EP) oscillator. The derived oscillator is solvable in quadratures, furthermore it admits asymptotic solution in terms of elementary functions after transition to the action-angle variables. Energy partition and coherency indexes are introduced to provide a complete characterization of the system dynamic states through the state variables of the EP oscillator. In particular, nonlinear normal and local mode dynamics of the original system associate with equilibrium points of such oscillator. Additional equilibrium points - the local modes - may occur on high energy level as a result of the symmetry breaking bifurcation, which is equivalent to the macroscopic quantum self-trapping effect in boson Josephson junction. Finally, since the Hamiltonian of EP oscillator is always quadratic with respect its linear momentum, the idea of second quantization can be explored without usual transition to the rigid pendulum approximation.