Dissipative dynamics of a qubit coupled to a nonlinear oscillator

We consider the dissipative dynamics of a qubit coupled to a nonlinear oscillator (NO) embedded in an Ohmic environment. By treating the nonlinearity up to first order and applying Van Vleck perturbation theory up to second order in the qubit-NO coupling, we derive an analytical expression for the eigenstates and eigenfunctions of the coupled qubit-NO system beyond the rotating wave approximation. In the regime of weak coupling to the thermal bath, analytical expressions for the time evolution of the qubit's populations are derived: they describe a multiplicity of damped oscillations superposed to a complex relaxation part toward thermal equilibrium. The long time dynamics is characterized by a single relaxation rate, which is maximal when the qubit is tuned to one of the resonances with the nonlinear oscillator.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; in the text between Eq. (8) and (9) there were misprints in the published version until 3rd Dec 2009: in the second order correction for the nonlinear oscillator and in the corresponding relative error. The correct expressions are given here. The results of the paper are not changed, as we consider the nonlinearity up to first order perturbation theor

The dissipative quantum Duffing oscillator: a comparison of Floquet-based approaches

We study the dissipative quantum Duffing oscillator in the deep quantum regime with two different approaches: The first is based on the exact Floquet states of the linear oscillator and the nonlinearity is treated perturbatively. It well describes the nonlinear oscillator dynamics away from resonance. The second, in contrast, is applicable at and in the vicinity of a N-photon resonance and it exploits quasi-degenerate perturbation theory for the nonlinear oscillator in Floquet space. It is perturbative both in driving and nonlinearity. A combination of both approaches yields the possibility to cover the whole range of driving frequencies. As an example we discuss the dissipative dynamics of the Duffing oscillator near and at the one-photon resonance.Comment: 38 pages, 4 figure

Interplay between dissipation and driving in nonlinear quantum systems

In this thesis we investigate the interplay between dissipation and driving in nonlinear quantum systems for a special setup: a flux qubit read out by a DC-SQUID - a nonlinear quantum oscillator. The latter is embedded in a harmonic bath, thereby mediating dissipation to the qubit. Two different approaches are elaborated: First we consider a composite qubit-SQUID system and add the bath afterwards. We derive analytical expressions for its eigenstates beyond rotating wave approximation (RWA), by applying Van Vleck perturbation theory (VVPT) in the qubit-oscillator coupling. The second approach is an effective bath approach based on a mapping procedure, where SQUID and bath form an effective bath seen by the qubit. Here the qubit dynamics is obtained by applying standard procedures established for the spin-boson problem. This approach requires the knowledge of the steady-state response of the dissipative Duffing oscillator, which is studied within a resonant and an off-resonant approach: The first is applicable near and at an N-photon resonance using VVPT beyond a RWA. The second is based on the exact Floquet states of the nonlinear driven oscillator. The dissipative qubit dynamics is described analytically for weak system-bath coupling and agrees well for both approaches. We derive the effect of the nonlinearity on the qubit dynamics, on the Bloch-Siegert shift and on the vacuum Rabi splitting

Dynamics of a qubit coupled to a dissipative nonlinear quantum oscillator: An effective-bath approach

We consider a qubit coupled to a nonlinear quantum oscillator, the latter coupled to an Ohmic bath, and investigate the qubit dynamics. This composed system can be mapped onto that of a qubit coupled to an effective bath. An approximate mapping procedure to determine the spectral density of the effective bath is given. Specifically, within a linear response approximation the effective spectral density is given by knowledge of the linear susceptibility of the nonlinear quantum oscillator. To determine the actual form of the susceptibility, we consider its periodically driven counterpart, which is the problem of the quantum Duffing oscillator within linear response theory in the driving amplitude. Knowing the effective spectral density, the qubit dynamics is investigated. In particular, an analytic formula for the qubit’s population difference is derived. Within the regime of validity of our theory, a very good agreement is found with predictions obtained from a Bloch-Redfield master equation approach applied to the composite qubit-nonlinear oscillator system