Optomechanical multistability in the quantum regime

TL;DR

This paper investigates how multistability in classical optomechanical systems manifests in the quantum regime, revealing new dynamical patterns and signatures of the classical-quantum crossover through phase space analysis and autocorrelation functions.

Contribution

It provides a novel quantum phase space perspective on optomechanical multistability and identifies measurable signatures of the classical-quantum transition.

Findings

Quantum trajectories can transition between classical orbits.

Clear dynamical signatures of classical-quantum crossover identified.

Quantum effects may protect against classical chaos.

Abstract

Classical optomechanical systems feature self-sustained oscillations, where multiple periodic orbits at different amplitudes coexist. We study how this multistability is realized in the quantum regime, where new dynamical patterns appear because quantum trajectories can move between different classical orbits. We explain the resulting quantum dynamics from the phase space point of view, and provide a quantitative description in terms of autocorrelation functions. In this way we can identify clear dynamical signatures of the crossover from classical to quantum mechanics in experimentally accessible quantities. Finally, we discuss a possible interpretation of our results in the sense that quantum mechanics protects optomechanical systems against the chaotic dynamics realized in the classical limit.