Period tripling due to parametric down-conversion in circuit QED

Abstract

Discrete time-translation symmetry breaking can be observed in periodically-driven systems oscillating at a fraction of the frequency of the driving force. However, with the exception of the parametric instability in period-doubling, multi-periodic driving does not lead to an instability threshold. In this paper, we point out that quantum vacuum fluctuations can be generically employed to induce period multiplication. In particular, we discuss the period-tripled states in circuit QED and propose a microwave setup. We show that for weak dissipation or strong driving, the system exhibits a non-equilibrium phase transition in the sense that the time scale over which the period-tripled state is generated can be arbitrarily separated from the time-scale of the subsequent dephasing.

6 pages, 3 figures, supplement

References in corpus (3)

• Condensed Matter Physics in Time Crystals
• Period-tripling subharmonic oscillations in a driven superconducting resonator
• Relaxation dynamics and dissipative phase transition in quantum oscillators with period tripling

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Entangling Schrödinger's cat states by bridging discrete- and continuous-variable encoding
• Energy Transfer into Period-Tripled States in Coupled Electromechanical Modes at Internal Resonance
• Discrete time translation symmetry breaking in a Josephson junction laser
• Period tripling due to Josephson parametric down-conversion beyond the rotating-wave approximation
• Superbunched radiation of a tunnel junction due to charge quantization
• Multipartite entanglement in a Josephson Junction Laser