Liouvillian exceptional points in the emergence of quantum synchronization

Abstract

The coupling between self-sustained oscillators, such as lasers or polariton condensates, leads to different steady-states in different regimes. Weak coupling allows the oscillators to behave independently, with different frequencies and uncorrelated phases, while stronger coupling can produce synchronization. In classical or semiclassical theories transitions between these steady-states correspond to changes in the topology of the phase space attractors and occur at generalized exceptional points. We investigate the corresponding changes in a quantum theory of coupled lasers or condensates. We show how the different steady-state regimes of the classical limit give rise to distinct forms for the spectra and eigenmatrices of the slow modes of the Liouvillian. By following the spectral flow between the different regimes we show that the synchronization transition is controlled by cascades of exceptional points in these slow modes, protected by a generalized PT symmetry. Our results show how singularities of the quantum Liouvillian control the different dynamical regimes, and give rise to experimental signatures of the synchronization transition which remain well-defined in the few-particle regime dominated by quantum effects.