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Mode-selective excitation in parametrically driven coupled quantum oscillators

arXiv Quantum Physics
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⚡ Quantum Brief
A May 2026 study introduces a novel parametric drive protocol for coupled quantum oscillators, shifting focus from modulating individual frequencies to modulating the coupling between two oscillators. This approach enables unprecedented control over mode-selective excitation. The research demonstrates that tuning the drive frequency can selectively excite a single normal mode while keeping others near their ground state, a breakthrough for quantum state manipulation. Only even-numbered quantum states are populated under this protocol. Within parametric resonance windows, excitation follows a power-law decay relative to occupation number, contrasting with the exponential decay observed off-resonance. This reveals fundamental differences in quantum versus classical oscillator behavior under parametric drives. The work extends classical parametric resonance theory by showing quantum ground states respond non-trivially due to wavefunction delocalization, unlike classical systems where the lowest energy state remains unaffected by twice-frequency drives. The framework is scalable, with preliminary analysis suggesting potential application to systems of N coupled oscillators, opening pathways for advanced quantum control in multi-oscillator networks.
Mode-selective excitation in parametrically driven coupled quantum oscillators

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Quantum Physics arXiv:2605.26227 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 25 May 2026] Title:Mode-selective excitation in parametrically driven coupled quantum oscillators Authors:Ranjani Seshadri View a PDF of the paper titled Mode-selective excitation in parametrically driven coupled quantum oscillators, by Ranjani Seshadri View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:A parametrically driven classical harmonic oscillator exhibits resonant instability when driven at twice its natural frequency, with the lowest energy configuration remaining unaffected by the drive. In contrast, the ground state of the quantum mechanical counterpart shows a non-trivial response to such a drive due to the spatial delocalization of the wavefunction. The standard realization of PR involves modulating the natural frequency of the oscillator. Here we study a different drive protocol in which the coupling between two such quantum harmonic oscillators is modulated parametrically. We show that the drive frequency can in principle be tuned to selectively excite any desired normal mode, while leaving the other close to its ground state. Only states with even quantum numbers in each normal mode are populated. Within the parametric resonance window the excitations follow a power-law decay with respect to occupation number, in contrast to the exponential decay observed off-resonance. We also briefly discuss how this framework can be extended to a system of N coupled oscillators Comments: Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2605.26227 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2605.26227v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2605.26227 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: Ranjani Seshadri [view email] [v1] Mon, 25 May 2026 18:00:15 UTC (636 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Mode-selective excitation in parametrically driven coupled quantum oscillators, by Ranjani SeshadriView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-05 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)

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Source: arXiv Quantum Physics