Spacing distribution for quantum Rabi models

TL;DR

This paper investigates the level spacing distribution in the asymmetric quantum Rabi model (AQRM), revealing new periodicity, symmetries, and phase transition phenomena in high-energy eigenvalues through numerical analysis.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed description of the level spacing distribution in the AQRM, uncovering new symmetries and behaviors not explained by existing theories.

Findings

Spacing distribution exhibits a new type of periodicity.

Symmetry of the distribution with respect to the bias parameter.

Observation of an excited state quantum phase transition.

Abstract

The asymmetric quantum Rabi model (AQRM) is a fundamental model in quantum optics describing the interaction of light and matter. Besides its immediate physical interest, the AQRM possesses an intriguing mathematical structure which is far from being completely understood. In this paper, we focus on the distribution of the level spacing, the difference between consecutive eigenvalues of the AQRM in the limit of high energies, i.e. large quantum numbers. In the symmetric case, that is the quantum Rabi model (QRM), the spacing distribution for each parity (given by the $\mathbb{Z}_2$-symmetry) is fully clarified by an asymptotic expression derived by de Monvel and Zielinski, though some questions remain for the full spectrum spacing. However, in the general AQRM case, there is no parity decomposition for the eigenvalues. In connection with numerically exact studies for the first 40,000 eigenstates we describe the spacing distribution for the AQRM which is characterized by a new type of periodicity and symmetric behavior of the distribution with respect to the bias parameter. The results reflects the hidden symmetry of the AQRM known to appear for half-integer bias. In addition, we observe in the AQRM the excited state quantum phase transition for large values of the bias parameter, analogous to the QRM with large qubit energy, and an internal symmetry of the level spacing distribution for fixed bias. This novel symmetry is independent from the symmetry for half-integer bias and not explained by current theoretical knowledge.