Quantum Dynamical Signatures of Topological Flow Transitions in Limit Cycle Phases

Abstract

Quantum self-oscillatory phases are ubiquitous in driven-dissipative systems. Classically, each phase is defined by its flow pattern and how stationary sets organize phase space (e.g. fixed points and limit cycles), with transitions triggered by local bifurcations or global basin rearrangements. In the quantum regime, these reorganizations are often blurred by density-matrix averaging, and spectral indicators such as the Liouvillian gap can miss changes that unfold mainly in the transients. Here we introduce a topological graph invariant, the molecule, which captures the phase-space connectivity of fixed points and limit cycles. Transitions show up as discrete changes of this invariant, with each form marking a distinct quantum dynamical pattern (e.g. relaxation pathway). The molecule encodes the global topological constraints that govern how stationary sets and their basins can rearrange, clarifies when such rearrangements can affect the Liouvillian modes, and reveals additional transitions that remain hidden in the steady-state spectrum but stem from global changes of the flow topology. Our findings show that flow topology offers a clear and unified way to identify and classify dynamical phases beyond what Liouvillian spectra alone reveal.