We theoretically investigate the quantum phase transition in the collective systems of qubits in a high-quality cavity, which is driven by a squeezed light. We show that the squeezed light induced symmetry breaking can result in quantum phase transition without the ultrastrong coupling requirement. Using the standard mean field theory, we derive the condition of the quantum phase transition. Surprisingly, we show that there exists a tricritical point where the first- and second-order phase transitions meet. With specific atom-cavity coupling strengths, both the first- and second-order phase transition can be controlled by the squeezed light, leading to an optical switching from the normal phase to the superradiant phase by just increasing the squeezed light intensity. The signature of these phase transitions can be observed by detecting the phase space Wigner function distribution with different profiles controlled by the squeezed light intensity. Such superradiant phase transition can be implemented in various quantum systems, including atoms, quantum dots and ions in optical cavities as well as the circuit quantum electrodynamics system.
The ground state of the photon-matter coupled system described by the Dicke model is found to be perfectly squeezed at the quantum critical point of the superradiant phase transition (SRPT). In the presence of the counter-rotating photon-atom coupling, the ground state is analytically expressed as a two-mode squeezed vacuum in the basis of photons and atomic collective excitations. The variance of a quantum fluctuation in the two-mode basis vanishes at the SRPT critical point, with its conjugate fluctuation diverging, ideally satisfying the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
The ground state of quantum Rabi model (QRM) exhibits rich nonclassical states including squeezed state, cat state, and entangled state in different parameter regimes. In this paper, we firstly use the polaron picture to figure out the process of superradiant phase transition (SPT) in view of the nonclassical states. According to the polaron wave functions, the squeezed state extends to whole parameter regimes, and a small but non-zero weighted antipolaron is necessary to form novel semi-cat states. Moreover, the behavior of superradiance in the QRM can be viewed as the same displacement of th…
For the visualization of quantum states, the approach based on Wigner functions can be very effective. Homodyne detection has been extensively used to obtain the density matrix, Wigner functions and tomographic reconstructions of optical fields for many thermal, coherent or squeezed states. Here, we use time-domain optical homodyne tomography for the quantum state recognition and reconstruction of the femtosecond optical field from a nonequilibrium superradiant coherent electron-hole state formed in a semiconductor laser structure. We observe severe deviations from the Poissonian statistics of…
We show that a collection of two-level atoms in an optical cavity beyond the rotating wave approximation and in the dispersive and strong-coupling regime constitutes a nonlinear medium and is capable of generating squeezed state of light. It is found that squeezing produced in the strong-coupling regime is significantly higher compared to that produced in the dispersive limit. On the other hand, we also show that it could be possible to observe the Dicke superradiant quantum phase transition in the dispersive regime where the vector potential term is negligible. Such a system can be an essenti…
We theoretically study the superradiant phase transition (SPT) in an indirect Rabi model, where both a two-level system and a single mode bosonic field couple to an auxiliary bosonic field. We find that the indirect spin-field coupling induced by the virtual excitation of the auxiliary field can allow the occurrence of a SPT at a critical point, and the influence of the so-called $A^2$ term in the normal Rabi model is naturally avoided. In the large detuning regime, we present the analytical expression of quantum critical point in terms of the original system parameters. The critical atom-fiel…
We theoretically address squeezed light generation through the spontaneous breaking of the rotational invariance occuring in a type I degenerate optical parametric oscillator (DOPO) pumped above threshold. We show that a DOPO with spherical mirrors, in which the signal and idler fields correspond to first order Laguerre-Gauss modes, produces a perfectly squeezed vacuum with the shape of a Hermite-Gauss mode, within the linearized theory. This occurs at any pumping level above threshold, hence the phenomenon is non-critical. Imperfections of the rotational symmetry, due e.g. to cavity anisotrop…
Superradiant phase transition (SPT) in thermal equilibrium, as a fundamental concept bridging the statistical physics and electrodynamics, can offer the key resources for quantum information science. Notwithstanding its fundamental and practical significances, equilibrium SPT has never been observed in experiments since the first proposal in the 1970s. Furthermore, the existence of equilibrium SPT in the cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) systems is still subject of ongoing debates, due to the no-go theorem induced by the so-called A2 term. Based on the platform of nuclear magnetic resonance…
In the last years we have proposed the use of the mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking with the purpose of generating perfect quadrature squeezing. Here we review previous work dealing with spatial (translational and rotational) symmetries, both on optical parametric oscillators and four-wave mixing cavities, as well as present new results. We then extend the phenomenon to the polarization state of the signal field, hence introducing spontaneous polarization symmetry breaking. Finally we propose a Jaynes-Cummings model in which the phenomenon can be investigated at the single-photon-pair…
We investigate the finite-size Dicke model with photon leakage. It is shown that the symmetry breaking states, which are characterized by non-vanishing $\langle \hat{a} \rangle \neq 0$ and correspond to the ground states in the superradiant phase in the thermodynamic limit, are stable, while the eigenstates of the isolated finite-size Dicke Hamiltonian conserve parity symmetry. We introduce and analyze an effective master equation that describes the dynamics of a pair of the symmetry breaking states that are the degenerate lowest energy eigenstates in the superradiant region with photon leakag…
We propose an efficient scheme for realizing squeezing for both an atomic ensemble and a cavity field via adiabatic evolution of the dark state of the atom-cavity system. Controlled symmetry breaking of the Hamiltonian ensures a unique dark state for the total system, in which the atomic system or cavity mode is squeezed depending upon the choice of the detunings. Since the generation of the atomic squeezed state requires neither the cavity mode nor the atomic system to be excited, the decoherence effects are effectively suppressed. The scheme is insensitive to the uncertainty in the atomic nu…
We introduce a class of quantum optical Hamiltonian characterized by three-body couplings, and propose a circuit-QED scheme based on state-of-the-art technology that implements the considered model. Unlike two-body light-matter interactions, this three-body coupling Hamiltonian is exclusively composed of terms which do not conserve the particle number. We explore the three-body ultrastrong coupling regime, showing the emergence of a superradiant phase transition which is of first order, is characterized by the breaking of a $\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry and has a strongly non-Gaus…
The single-mode Dicke model is well-known to undergo a quantum phase transition from the so-called normal phase to the supperradiant phase (hereinafter called the "superradiant quantum phase transition"). Normally, quantum phase transitions are closely related to the critical behavior of quantities such as entanglement, quantum fluctuations, and fidelity. In this paper, we study quantum Fisher information (QFI) of the field mode and that of the atoms in the ground state of the Dicke Hamiltonian. For finite and large enough number of atoms, our numerical results show that near the critical atom…
The interaction of an atomic two-level system and a squeezed vacuum leads to interesting novel effects in atomic dynamics, including line narrowing in resonance fluorescence and absorption spectra, and a suppressed (enhanced) decay of the in-phase and out-of phase component of the atomic polarization. On the experimental side these predictions have so far eluded observation, essentially due to the difficulty of embedding atoms in a 4 pi squeezed vacuum. In this paper we show how to ``engineer'' a squeezed-bath-type interaction for an effective two-level system. In the simplest example, our two…
We explore an extended quantum Rabi model describing the interaction between a two-mode bosonic field and a three-level atom. Quantum phase transitions of this few degree of freedom model is found when the ratio $η$ of the atom energy scale to the bosonic field frequency approaches infinity. An analytical solution is provided when the two lowest-energy levels are degenerate. According to it, we recognize that the phase diagram of the model consists of three regions: one normal phase and two superradiant phases. The quantum phase transitions between the normal phase and the two superradiant pha…
We study symmetry breaking at the Dicke quantum phase transition by coupling a motional degree of freedom of a Bose-Einstein condensate to the field of an optical cavity. Using an optical heterodyne detection scheme we observe symmetry breaking in real-time and distinguish the two superradiant phases. We explore the process of symmetry breaking in the presence of a small symmetry-breaking field, and study its dependence on the rate at which the critical point is crossed. Coherent switching between the two ordered phases is demonstrated.
We predict the generation of noncritically squeezed light through the spontaneous rotational symmetry breaking occurring in a Kerr cavity. The model considers a $χ^{(3)}$ cavity that is pumped by two Gaussian beams of frequencies $ω_{1}$ and $ω_{2}$. The cavity configuration is such that two signal modes of equal frequency $ω_{\mathrm{s}}=(ω_{1}% +ω_{2})/2$ are generated, these signal fields being first order Laguerre--Gauss modes. In this system a spontaneous breaking of the rotational symmetry occurs as the signal field corresponds to a Hermite--Gauss TEM mode. This symmetry breaking leads t…
Parametrically Driven Superradiance of an Interacting Tavis-Cummings Model
University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学）；Laboratory of Quantum Information, University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学量子信息实验室）；Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Network, University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学安徽省量子网络重点实验室）；CAS Center For Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, Hefei 230026, China（中国科学院量子信息与量子物理卓越创新中心）；Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学合肥国家实验室）；Anhui Center for Fundamental Sciences in Theoretical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学安徽理论物理基础科学中心）
We present a direct mapping between the quantum optomechanical problem of the atoms harmonically trapped in the vicinity of a chiral waveguide and a generalized quantum Rabi model and discuss the analogy between the self-organization of atomic chains in photonic structures and Dicke-like quantum phase transitions in the ultrastrong coupling regime. We extend the class of the superradiant phase transitions for the systems possessing $\mathbb{Z}_3$ rather than parity $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry and demonstrate the emergence of the multicomponent Schrodinger cat ground states in these systems.
The stationary properties of the Bose-Hubbard model under squeezed dissipation are investigated. The dissipative model does not possess a $U(1)$ symmetry, but parity is conserved: $\langle a_j \rangle \to -\langle a_j \rangle$. We find that $\langle a_j \rangle = 0$ always holds, so no symmetry breaking occurs. Without the onsite repulsion, the linear case is known to be critical. At the critical point the system freezes to an EPR state with infinite two mode entanglement. We show here that the correlations are rapidly destroyed whenever the repulsion is switched on. Then, the system approache…
The full Dicke model describes a system of $N$ identical two level-atoms coupled to a single-mode quantized bosonic field. The model considers rotating and counter-rotating coupling terms between the atoms and the bosonic field, with coupling constants $g_1$ and $g_2$, for each one of the coupling terms, respectively. We study finite temperature properties of the model using the path integral approach and functional methods. In the thermodynamic limit, $N\rightarrow\infty$, the system exhibits phase transition from normal to superradiant phase, at some critical values of temperature and coupli…
The Dicke model is a paradigmatic quantum-optical model describing the interaction of a collection of two-level systems with a single bosonic mode. Effective implementations of this model made it possible to observe the emergence of superradiance, i.e., cooperative phenomena arising from the collective nature of light-matter interactions. Via reservoir engineering and analogue quantum simulation techniques, current experimental platforms allow us not only to implement the Dicke model, but also to design more exotic interactions, such as the two-photon Dicke model. In the Hamiltonian case, this…
The dynamics of squeezing across quantum phase transition in two basic models, viz., the one-axis twisting model in transverse field and the Dicke model, is investigated using Holstein-Primakoff representation in the large spin limit. Near the phase boundary between the disordered (normal) and the ordered (superradiant) phase, the strength of spin and photon squeezing and the duration of time for which the system stays in the highly squeezed state are found to exhibit strong power-law growth with distance from the quantum critical point. The critical exponent for squeezing time is found to be …
We study the superradiant evolution of a set of $N$ two-level systems spontaneously radiating under the effect of phase-breaking mechanisms. We investigate the dynamics generated by non-radiative losses and pure dephasing, and their interplay with spontaneous emission. Our results show that in the parameter region relevant to many solid-state cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments, even with a dephasing rate much faster than the radiative lifetime of a single two-level system, a sub-optimal collective superfluorescent burst is still observable. We also apply our theory to the dilute excita…
Spontaneous polarized phase transitions and symmetry breaking in the imbalanced Dicke model
Shaoxing University（绍兴大学）；Zhejiang Normal University（浙江师范大学）；Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院物理研究所）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）
We show that excited-state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) in a system in which the parity symmetry is broken can be used to engineer an energy-cat state -- a Schrödinger cat state involving a quantum superposition of both different positions and energies. By means of a generalization of the Rabi model, we show that adding a parity-breaking term annihilates the ground-state quantum phase transition between normal and superradiant phases, and induces the formation of three excited-state phases, all of them identified by means of an observable with two eigenvalues. In one of these phases, lev…
Sign-changing interactions constitute a crucial ingredient in the creation of frustrated many-body systems such as spin glasses. We present here the demonstration of a photon-mediated sign-changing interaction between Bose-Einstein condensed (BEC) atoms in a confocal cavity. The interaction between two atoms is of an unusual, nonlocal form proportional to the cosine of the inner product of the atoms' position vectors. This interaction arises from the differing Gouy phase shifts of the cavity's degenerate modes. Moreover, these Gouy phase anomalies induce an extra pattern of Z_2-symmetry-breaki…
We propose a network of open-dissipative quantum oscillators with optical error correction circuits. In the proposed network, the squeezed/anti-squeezed vacuum states of the constituent optical parametric oscillators below the threshold establish quantum correlations through optical mutual coupling, while collective symmetry breaking is induced above the threshold as a decision-making process. This initial search process is followed by a chaotic solution search step facilitated by the optical error correction feedback. As an optical hardware technology, the proposed coherent Ising machine (CIM…
