Full counting statistics of energy fluctuations in a driven quantum resonator

TL;DR

This paper investigates the quantum statistical properties of energy fluctuations in a driven bosonic resonator, revealing non-classical features and negative quasi-probabilities that challenge classical interpretations.

Contribution

It introduces a method to analyze higher moments of energy fluctuations using Keldysh formalism, uncovering non-classical distributions in driven quantum resonators.

Findings

Quantum distribution differs from classical at low temperatures.

Negative quasi-probabilities emerge under certain conditions.

Fluctuation statistics resemble those in superconducting charge systems.

Abstract

We consider the statistics of time-integrated energy fluctuations of a driven bosonic resonator (as measured by a QND detector), using the standard Keldysh prescription to define higher moments. We find that due to an effective cascading of fluctuations, these statistics are surprisingly non-classical: the low-temperature, quantum probability distribution is not equivalent to the high-temperature classical distribution evaluated at some effective temperature. Moreover, for a sufficiently large drive detuning and low temperatures, the Keldysh-ordered quasi-probability distribution characterizing these fluctuations fails to be positive-definite; this is similar to the full counting statistics of charge in superconducting systems. We argue that this indicates a kind of non-classical behaviour akin to that tested by Leggett-Garg inequalities.