Transitions as the Native Objects of Dispersive Light-Matter Dynamics
arXiv:2605.14096
The paper presents a framework that treats light‑matter transitions as the primary dynamical objects, providing a compact diagrammatic method for multiphoton processes and enabling transparent derivations of high‑order effective Hamiltonians in the dispersive regime, illustrated with the Jaynes‑Cummings model.
Abstract
We introduce a framework where light-matter transitions, rather than states, are the primary dynamical objects. Successive compositions of elementary transitions yield multiphoton processes with compact diagrammatic bookkeeping of resonant and off-resonant pathways. This approach enables transparent derivations of effective high-order Hamiltonians in the dispersive regime, foundational to quantum-information applications. Applied to the paradigmatic Jaynes-Cummings model, our framework reveals a photon-number-independent intrinsic Rabi frequency and persistent polaritonic hybridization in the dispersive regime, unifying resonant and dispersive limits.