Experimental and theoretical characterization of a non-equilibrium steady state of a periodically driven qubit

TL;DR

This paper investigates the non-equilibrium steady states of a periodically driven qubit, combining experimental single-photon studies with theoretical analysis to understand information flow and system-environment interactions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive theoretical framework explaining experimental observations of non-equilibrium steady states in a driven quantum system.

Findings

Engineered periodic driving induces persistent bidirectional information flow.

Theoretical model accurately describes experimental non-equilibrium steady states.

Demonstrates controllability of system-environment interactions through driving and environment properties.

Abstract

Periodically driven dynamics of open quantum systems is very interesting because typically non-equilibrium steady state is reached, which is characterized by a non-vanishing current. In this work, we study time discrete and periodically driven dynamics experimentally for a single photon that its coupled to its environment. We develop a comprehensive theory which explains the experimental observations and offers an analytical characterization of the non-equilibrium steady states of the system. We demonstrate that the periodic driving and the properties of the environment can be engineered in such a way that there is asymptotically non-vanishing bidirectional information flow between the open system and the environment.