Photon-Pressure Strong-Coupling between two Superconducting Circuits

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a magnetic flux-tunable photon-pressure interaction between two superconducting circuits, enabling strong coupling, coherent state transfer, and quantum-limited amplification in a highly controllable and flexible platform.

Contribution

It introduces a superconducting circuit implementation of photon-pressure coupling, achieving strong interaction and controllable quantum state transfer not previously demonstrated in such systems.

Findings

Observation of dynamical backaction and transparency effects

Achievement of parametric strong-coupling regime

Ability to amplify and detect thermal fluctuations near quantum ground state

Abstract

The nonlinear, parametric coupling between two harmonic oscillators has been used in the field of optomechanics for breakthrough experiments regarding the control and detection of mechanical resonators. Although this type of interaction is an extremely versatile resource and not limited to coupling light fields to mechanical resonators, there have only been, very few reports of implementing it within other systems so far. Here, we present a device consisting of two superconducting LC circuits, parametrically coupled to each other by a magnetic flux-tunable photon-pressure interaction. We observe dynamical backaction between the two circuits, photon-pressure-induced transparency and absorption, and enter the parametric strong-coupling regime, enabling switchable and controllable coherent state transfer between the two modes. As result of the parametric interaction, we are also able to amplify and observe thermal current fluctuations in a radio-frequency LC circuit close to its quantum ground-state. Due to the high design flexibility and precision of superconducting circuits and the large single-photon coupling rate, our approach will enable new ways to control and detect radio-frequency photons and allow for experiments in parameter regimes not accessible to other platforms with photon-pressure interaction.