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Physical Review A

Exact steady state of the quantum van der Pol oscillator: Critical phenomena and enhanced metrology

Yaohua Li, Xuanchen Zhang, Yong‐Chun Liu

Published Aug 7, 2025• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The authors obtain the exact steady state of the quantum van der Pol model with the emergence of dissipative quantum criticality. The exact steady state enables them to analytically discuss the criticality-enhanced metrology in open quantum systems.
DOI
10.1103/zybb-vxfz

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Classical dynamical systems close to a critical point are known to act as efficient sensors due to a strongly nonlinear response. We explore such systems in the quantum regime by modeling a quantum version of a driven van der Pol oscillator. We find the classical response survives down to one excitation quantum. At very weak drives, genuine quantum features arise, including diverging and negative susceptibilities. Further, the linear response is greatly enhanced by using a strong incoherent pump. These results are largely generic and can be probed in current experimental platforms suited for quantum sensing.
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An important transition from a homogeneous steady state to an inhomogeneous steady state via the Turing bifurcation in coupled oscillators was reported recently [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 024103 (2013)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.111.024103]. However, the same in the quantum domain is yet to be observed. In this paper, we discover the quantum analog of the Turing bifurcation in coupled quantum oscillators. We show that a homogeneous steady state is transformed into an inhomogeneous steady state through this bifurcation in coupled quantum van der Pol oscillators. We demonstrate our results by a direct simulation of the quantum master equation in the Lindblad form. We further support our observations through an analytical treatment of the noisy classical model. Our study explores the paradigmatic Turing bifurcation at the quantum-classical interface and opens up the door toward its broader understanding.