arXiv subjects

Liwei Duan

Publications and source records attributed to Liwei Duan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Bloch Siegert Physics in a Reconfigurable Photonic Binary Lattice

The Bloch Siegert shift, a hallmark correction arising from counter-rotating interactions in driven two-level systems, has an exact counterpart in binary lattices under static forcing, where it governs resonant long-range tunneling between sites separated by odd lattice spacings. Here we report the first experimental realization of this correspondence using a 12 mode programmable photonic integrated circuit. By implementing a reconfigurable binary lattice with sub-percent control of on-site detuning, we observe coherent periodic jumps across four resonance orders and quantitatively verify the predicted period law over the full parameter space. The measured dynamics exhibit the extreme resonance sensitivity characteristic of Bloch Siegert physics and agree closely with the level-anticrossing picture of the semiclassical Rabi model. Exploiting the underlying parity structure, we further convert intrinsically bidirectional oscillations into cascaded unidirectional transport through adaptive sign reversal of the staggered potential, achieving fidelities exceeding 0.95 and 0.98 on the same hardware platform. Our results establish programmable photonic lattices as a scalable testbed for strongly driven quantum-optical phenomena and Floquet-engineered transport.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Nonequilibrium energy transport in driven-dissipative quantum systems

Nonequilibrium energy transport serves as one of fundamental problems in quantum thermodynamics and quantum technologies. Driven quantum master equation in the dressed picture provides an efficient way of investigating nonequilibrium energy flow in general driven-dissipative quantum systems, where the systems are simultaneously driven by the finite thermodynamic bias and coherent driving field. The validity and general applicability of driven quantum master equation is confirmed by comparing with Floquet master equation, by analyzing energy currents in generic spin and boson models. The additional driving phase reserved in system-reservoir interactions, will apparently modify microscopic energy exchange processes. The steady-state energy currents are dramatically enhanced, in particular near the resonant regimes. In contrast, the traditional dressed master equation yields distinct behaviors of the energy currents. We hope that the driven quantum master equation may provide an efficient utility for the control of quantum transport and thermodynamic performances in driven-dissipative nanodevices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Controlling Symmetries and Quantum Criticality in the Anisotropic Coupled-Top Model

We investigate the anisotropic coupled-top model, which describes the interactions between two large spins along both $x-$ and $y-$directions. By tuning anisotropic coupling strengths along distinct directions, we can manipulate the system's symmetry, inducing either discrete $Z_2$ or continuous U(1) symmetry. In the thermodynamic limit, the mean-field phase diagram is divided into five phases: the disordered paramagnetic phase, the ordered ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic phases with symmetry breaking along either $x-$ or $y-$direction. This results in a double degeneracy of the spin projections along the principal direction for $Z_2$ symmetry breaking. When U(1) symmetry is broken, infinite degeneracy associated with the Goldstone mode emerges. Beyond the mean-field ansatz, at the critical points, the energy gap closes, and both quantum fluctuations and entanglement entropy diverge, signaling the onset of second-order quantum phase transitions. These critical behaviors consistently support the universality class of $Z_2$ symmetry. Contrarily, when U(1) symmetry is broken, the energy gap vanishes beyond the critical points, yielding a novel exponent of 1, rather than 1/2 for $Z_2$ symmetry breaking. The framework provides an ideal platform for experimentally controlling symmetries and investigating associated physical phenomena.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Analytical Study of the Non-Hermitian Semiclassical Rabi Model

The $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric semiclassical Rabi model explores the fundamental interaction between a two-level atom and a classical field, revealing novel phenomena in open systems through the inclusion of non-Hermitian terms. We propose a single similarity transformation that yields an effective Hamiltonian in rotating-wave approximation, enabling an analytical solution. The phase boundary of the $\mathcal{PT}$-broken phase, derived from the analytical eigenvalues, closely matches the numerical exact one over a wide range of atomic frequencies, demonstrating the effectiveness of the analytical approach, especially at the main resonance. The Floquet parity operator is also introduced, providing a deeper physical understanding of the emergence of the $\mathcal{PT}$-broken phase. Furthermore, by analyzing the dynamics of excited-state population, we observe several stable oscillations in the Fourier spectrum, demonstrating the applicability of the analytical method beyond the single-photon resonance region. The Bloch-Siegert shift is also discussed and, surprisingly, resembles its Hermitian counterpart, except for the higher-order terms in the coupling strength. The present analytical treatment provides a concise and accurate description of the main physics of this non-Hermitian atom-field interaction system.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Periodic jumps in binary lattices with a static force

We investigate the dynamics of a particle in a binary lattice with staggered on-site energies. An additional static force is introduced which further adjusts the on-site energies. The binary lattice appears to be unrelated to the semiclassical Rabi model, which describes a periodically driven two-level system. However, in a certain parity subspace, the Floquet Hamiltonian of the semiclassical Rabi model can be exactly mapped to that of the binary lattice. These connections provide a different perspective for analyzing lattice systems. At resonance, namely that the mismatch of on-site energies between adjacent sites is nearly multiple of the strength of the static force, the level anticrossing occurs. This phenomenon is closely related to the Bloch-Siegert shift in the semiclassical Rabi model. At the $n$th order resonance, an initially localized particle exhibits periodic jumps between site $0$ and site $(2n+1)$, rather than continuous hopping between adjacent sites. The binary lattice with a static force serves as a bridge linking condensed matter physics and quantum optics, due to its connection with the semiclassical Rabi model.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Quantum Phase Transitions in a Generalized Dicke Model

We investigate a generalized Dicke model by introducing two interacting spin ensembles coupled with a single-mode bosonic field. Apart from the normal to superradiant phase transition induced by the strong spin-boson coupling, interactions between the two spin ensembles enrich the phase diagram by introducing ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases. The mean-field approach reveals a phase diagram comprising three phases: paramagnetic-normal phase, ferromagnetic-superradiant phase, and antiferromagnetic-normal phase. Ferromagnetic spin-spin interaction can significantly reduce the required spin-boson coupling strength to observe the superradiant phase, where the macroscopic excitation of the bosonic field occurs. Conversely, antiferromagnetic spin-spin interaction can strongly suppress the superradiant phase. To examine higher-order quantum effects beyond the mean-field contribution, we utilize the Holstein-Primakoff transformation, which converts the generalized Dicke model into three coupled harmonic oscillators in the thermodynamic limit. Near the critical point, we observe the close of the energy gap between the ground and the first excited states, the divergence of entanglement entropy and quantum fluctuation in certain quadrature. These observations further confirm the quantum phase transition and offer additional insights into critical behaviors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Quantum phase transitions in the triangular coupled-top model

We study the coupled-top model with three large spins located on a triangle. Depending on the coupling strength, there exist three phases: disordered paramagnetic phase, ferromagnetic phase, and frustrated antiferromagnetic phase, which can be distinguished by the mean-field approach. The paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition is accompanied by the breaking of the global $Z_2$ symmetry, whereas the paramagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase transition is accompanied by the breaking of both the global $Z_2$ symmetry and the translational symmetry. Exact analytical results of higher-order quantum effects beyond the mean-field contribution, such as the excitation energy, quantum fluctuation, and von Neumann entropy, can be achieved by the Holstein-Primakoff transformation and symplectic transformation in the thermodynamic limit. Near the quantum critical point, the energy gap closes, along with the divergence of the quantum fluctuation in certain quadrature and von Neumann entropy. Particular attention should be paid to the antiferromagnetic phase, where geometric frustration takes effect. The critical behaviors in the antiferromagnetic phase are quite different from those in the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases, which highlight the importance of geometric frustration. The triangular coupled-top model provides a simple and feasible platform to study the quantum phase transition and the novel critical behaviors induced by geometric frustration.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Unified approach to the nonlinear Rabi models

An analytical approach is proposed to study the two-photon, two-mode and intensity-dependent Rabi models. By virtue of the su(1,1) Lie algebra, all of them can be unified to the same Hamiltonian with $\mathcal{Z}_2$ symmetry. There exist exact isolated solutions, which are located at the level crossings between different parities and correspond to eigenstates with finite dimension. Beyond the exact isolated solutions, the regular spectrum can be achieved by finding the roots of the G-function. The corresponding eigenstates are of infinite dimension. It is noteworthy that the expansion coefficients of the eigenstates present an exponential decay behavior. The decay rate decreases with increasing coupling strength. When the coupling strength tends to the spectral collapse point $g \rightarrow ω/ 2$, the decay rate tends to zero which prevents the convergence of the wave functions. This work paves a way for the analysis of novel physics in nonlinear quantum optics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Quantum walk for SU(1,1)

We propose a scheme to implement the quantum walk for SU(1,1) in the phase space, which generalizes those associated with the Heisenberg-Weyl group. The movement of the walker described by the SU(1,1) coherent states can be visualized on the hyperboloid or the Poincaré disk. In both one-mode and two-mode realizations, we introduce the corresponding coin-flip and conditional-shift operators for the SU(1,1) group, whose relations with those for Heisenberg-Weyl group are analyzed. The probability distribution, standard deviation and the von Neumann entropy are employed to describe the walking process. The nonorthogonality of the SU(1,1) coherent states precludes the quantum walk for SU(1,1) from the idealized one. However, the overlap between different SU(1,1) coherent states can be reduced by increasing the Bargmann index $k$, which indicates that the two-mode realization provides more possibilities to simulate the idealized quantum walk.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Ultrafast adiabatic passages in ultrastrongly coupled light-matter systems

We have obtained the solutions of the multimode quantum Rabi model when all modes have identical frequencies $\omega$, including dark states $|\phi_K\rangle$ with at least $K$ $(K=1,2,3,\ldots)$ photons. Extended to the multiqubit case, they lie close to another dark state $\vert \psi\rangle$ with at most one photon in the spectrum. Taking advantages of such solutions, we find a linear and symmetry-protected adiabatic passage through $\vert \psi\rangle$ to fast generate arbitrary single-photon $M$-mode $W$ states $\vert W_M\rangle$ with exactly the same speed. The effective minimum energy gap during the adiabatic evolution is further enlarged to $0.63\omega$ when Stark shifts are included, such that arbitrary $\vert W_M\rangle$ can be ultrafast generated in $1.55\times 2\pi\omega^{-1}$ with fidelity $99\%$, indepedent of $M$. This work reveals the existence of linear ultrafast adiabatic passages in light-matter systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Quantum walk on the Bloch sphere

A scheme for implementing the discrete-time quantum walk on the Bloch sphere is proposed, which is closely related to the SU(2) group. A spin cluster serves as the walker, whereas its location on the Bloch sphere is described by the spin coherent state. An additional spin that interacts with the spin cluster plays the role of a coin, whose state determines the rotation of the spin cluster. The Wigner function is calculated to visualize the movement of the walker on the Bloch sphere, with which the probability distribution and the standard deviation are also achieved. The quadratic enhancement of variance for the quantum walk on the Bloch sphere is confirmed. Compared to the ideal quantum walk on a circle, the walker's states on the Bloch sphere are generally nonorthogonal, whose drawbacks can be eliminated by increasing the number of spins in the spin cluster.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Quantum tricritical point emerging in the spin-boson model with two dissipative spins in staggered biases

We study the spin-boson model (SBM) with two spins in staggered biases by a numerically exact method based on variational matrix product states. Several observables such as the magnetization, the entanglement entropy between the two spins and the bosonic environment, the ground-state energy, as well as the correlation function for two spins are calculated exactly. The characteristics of these observables suggest that the staggered biases can drive the 2nd-order quantum phase transition (QPT) to the 1st-order QPT in the sub-Ohmic SBM, while the Kosterlitz-Thouless QPT in the Ohmic SBM goes directly to the 1st-order one. A quantum tricritical point, where the continuous QPT meets the 1st-order one, can then be detected. It is found that the staggered biases would not change the universality of { the phase transition in this model} below the quantum tricritical point.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2021

Multiple ground-state instabilities in the anisotropic quantum Rabi model

In this work, the anisotropic variant of the quantum Rabi model with different coupling strengths of the rotating and counter-rotating wave terms is studied by the Bogoliubov operator approach. The anisotropy preserves the parity symmetry of the original model. We derive the corresponding $G$-function, which yields both the regular and exceptional eigenvalues. The exceptional eigenvalues correspond to the crossing points of two energy levels with different parities and are doubly degenerate. We find analytically that the ground-state and the first excited state can cross several times, indicating multiple first-order phase transitions as function of the coupling strength. These crossing points are related to manifest parity symmetry of the Hamiltonian, in contrast to the level crossings in the asymmetric quantum Rabi model which are caused by a hidden symmetry.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

$\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry of a square-wave modulated two-level system

We study a non-Hermitian two-level system with square-wave modulated dissipation and coupling. Based on the Floquet theory, we achieve an effective Hamiltonian from which the boundaries of the $\mathcal{PT}$ phase diagram are captured exactly. Two kinds of $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry broken phases are found whose effective Hamiltonians differ by a constant $ω/ 2$. For the time-periodic dissipation, a vanishingly small dissipation strength can lead to the $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry breaking in the $(2k-1)$-photon resonance ($Δ= (2k-1) ω$), with $k=1,2,3\dots$ It is worth noting that such a phenomenon can also happen in $2k$-photon resonance ($Δ= 2k ω$), as long as the dissipation strengths or the driving times are imbalanced, namely $γ_0 \ne - γ_1$ or $T_0 \ne T_1$. For the time-periodic coupling, the weak dissipation induced $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry breaking occurs at $Δ_{\mathrm{eff}}=kω$, where $Δ_{\mathrm{eff}}=\left(Δ_0 T_0 + Δ_1 T_1\right)/T$. In the high frequency limit, the phase boundary is given by a simple relation $γ_{\mathrm{eff}}=\pmΔ_{\mathrm{eff}}$.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Single-photon scattering controlled by an imperfect cavity

We study the single-photon transport in the coupled-resonator waveguide (CRW) controlled by an imperfect cavity. A Lorentzian spectrum is introduced to describe the dissipation. We find that the probability current conservation can be broken, although the imperfect cavity is a Hermitian system. The coupling strength between the imperfect cavity and the CRW has significant influences near the resonant frequency. With the increase of the coupling strength, the transmission coefficient becomes smaller. The spectral width plays a dominant role under the off-resonant condition, where the transmission coefficient is greatly suppressed with the increase of the spectral width. We also observe an abrupt jump of the transmission and reflection coefficients when the hopping amplitude is large enough. All the distinctive behaviors are closely related to the complex effective potential induced by the imperfect cavity.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Rich phase diagram of quantum phases in the anisotropic subohmic spin-boson model

We study the anisotropic spin-boson model (SBM) with the subohmic bath by a numerically exact method based on variational matrix product states. A rich phase diagram is found in the anisotropy-coupling strength plane by calculating several observables. There are three distinct quantum phases: a delocalized phase with even parity (phase I), a delocalized phase with odd parity (phase II), and a localized phase with broken $Z_2$ symmetry (phase III), which intersect at a quantum tricritical point. The competition between those phases would give overall picture of the phase diagram. For small power of the spectral function of the bosonic bath, the quantum phase transition (QPT) from phase I to III with mean-field critical behavior is present, similar to the isotropic SBM. The novel phase diagram full with three different phases can be found at large power of the spectral function: For highly anisotropic case, the system experiences the QPTs from phase I to II via 1st-order, and then to the phase III via 2nd-order with the increase of the coupling strength. For low anisotropic case, the system only experiences the continuous QPT from phase I to phase III with the non-mean-field critical exponents. Very interestingly, at the moderate anisotropy, the system would display the continuous QPTs for several times but with the same critical exponents. This unusual reentrance to the same localized phase is discovered in the light-matter interacting systems. The present study on the anisotropic SBM could open an avenue to the rich quantum criticality.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2019

The mixed quantum Rabi model

The analytical exact solutions to the mixed quantum Rabi model (QRM) including both one- and two-photon terms are found by using Bogoliubov operators. Transcendental functions in terms of $4 \times 4$ determinants responsible for the exact solutions are derived. These so-called $G$-functions with pole structures can be reduced to the previous ones in the unmixed QRMs. The zeros of $G$-functions reproduce completely the regular spectra. The exceptional eigenvalues can also be obtained by another transcendental function. From the pole structure, we can derive two energy limits when the two-photon coupling strength tends to the collapse point. All energy levels only collapse to the lower one, which diverges negatively. The level crossings in the unmixed QRMs are relaxed to avoided crossings in the present mixed QRM due to absence of parity symmetry. In the weak two-photon coupling regime, the mixed QRM is equivalent to an one-photon QRM with an effective positive bias, suppressed photon frequency and enhanced one-photon coupling, which may pave a highly efficient and economic way to access the deep-strong one-photon coupling regime.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Quantum phase transitions in the spin-boson model without the counterrotating terms

We study the spin-boson model without the counterrotating terms by a numerically exact method based on variational matrix product states. Surprisingly, the second-order quantum phase transition (QPT) is observed for the sub-Ohmic bath in the rotating-wave approximations. Moreover, first-order QPTs can also appear before the critical points. With the decrease of the bath exponents, these first-order QPTs disappear successively, while the second-order QPT remains robust. The second-order QPT is further confirmed by multi-coherent-states variational studies, while the first-order QPT is corroborated with the exact diagonalization in the truncated Hilbert space. Extension to the Ohmic bath is also performed, and many first-order QPTs appear successively in a wide coupling regime, in contrast to previous findings. The previous pictures for many physical phenomena for the spin-boson model in the rotating-wave approximation have to be modified at least at the strong coupling.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗