Strong-Drive Limits in Josephson Circuits: From Chaos to an Unbound-Resonance Threshold

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2609.04704v1
• Date: Fri, 04 Sep 2026 04:23:57 GMT
• Title: Strong-Drive Limits in Josephson Circuits: From Chaos to an Unbound-Resonance Threshold
• Abstract summary: We describe strong-drive limits in flux- and charge-driven Josephson circuits across drive frequency and dc flux bias.<n>We derive analytical criteria for both thresholds, validate them numerically, and experimentally confirm the predicted dc-bias dependence of the low-frequency threshold in a flux-driven SQUID.
• Score: 3.7717401649628877
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Strong microwave drives enable fast measurement and parametric control in superconducting circuits but can induce transitions out of the intended low-energy manifold. We develop a unified description of strong-drive limits in flux- and charge-driven Josephson circuits across drive frequency and dc flux bias. Using classical phase-space analysis and Floquet--Markov simulations, we identify distinct low- and high-frequency mechanisms. At low frequency, we characterize bound-state resonances and separatrix chaos and find that the flux-drive chaos threshold depends strongly on dc flux bias. At high frequency, these mechanisms are suppressed, and the dissipative steady state transfers from the central bound-state sector to outer resonances formed by above-barrier running trajectories. The resulting unbound-resonance threshold is nearly independent of drive frequency and circuit parameters over the regime studied and is controlled primarily by dc flux bias. Coherent simulations show that parametric operation persists beyond this threshold, but at a reduced rate, setting an effective upper bound on the achievable operation speed. We derive analytical criteria for both thresholds, validate them numerically, and experimentally confirm the predicted dc-bias dependence of the low-frequency threshold in a flux-driven SQUID. We also determine the timescales for transfer into the unbound-resonance regime and relaxation back to the bound-state manifold after the drive is removed. Finally, we relate the stability limits to a complementary picture based on the junction critical current and extend the framework to multitone drives and inductively shunted circuits. Together, these results identify the mechanisms limiting strong driving and suggest routes to extend the stable operating range of Josephson circuits.

Related papers

• Weakly Driven and Finite Detuning Boundary Time Crystals Enabled by Low-Dissipation Dynamical Channels [11.800038220533137]
  boundary time crystals (BTCs) are persistent oscillations sustained by coherent driving and collective dissipation.<n> Conventional BTCs require strong driving and exact atom-drive resonance.<n>We show that shared dissipation organizes dissipation-free and low-dissipation modes into dynamically accessible low-dissipation channels.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-09-03T07:49:18Z)
• Magneto-oscillations, nonlinearity, and nonreciprocity of Coulomb drag in quantum circuits [0.0]
  We consider the problem of Coulomb drag in quantum circuits built of adiabatic constrictions.<n>We derive a closed expression for the linear dragance.<n>We discuss physically motivated models of dissipation-induced nonreciprocity of the drag signal.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-08-03T19:06:36Z)
• Measurement-induced state transitions across the fluxonium qubit landscape [73.92964306525622]
  We study measurement-induced state transitions in the fluxonium qubit over a wide range of parameters.<n>We find that lighter fluxoniums are less susceptible to these state transitions when compared to their heavier counterparts.<n>We attribute this effect to the combination of lower density of multi-photon resonances, a smaller requisite coupling for a given dispersive shift, and a more harmonic-like structure of the charge operator.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-04-09T17:53:41Z)
• Dynamical Phase Transitions Across Slow and Fast Regimes in a Two-Tone Driven Duffing Resonator [36.94429692322632]
  We study a Duffing resonator under bichromatic excitation and identify a competition between the two drives.<n>In the slow-beating regime, where the tones are closely spaced, the secondary drive acts as a modulation that induces dynamical phase transitions.<n>Our results provide a framework for controlling driven nonlinear systems, enabling state manipulation, and sensing in nanomechanical, optical, and superconducting circuit platforms.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-11-03T19:00:24Z)
• Exceeding the Parametric Drive Strength Threshold in Nonlinear Circuits [33.16766650698962]
  Superconducting quantum circuits rely on strong drives to implement fast gates, high-fidelity readout, and state stabilization.<n>We show that a nonlinear coupler undergoes ionization under strong parametric driving, leading to a breakdown of coherent control.<n>This insight establishes fundamental constraints on parametric control and offers design principles for mitigating drive-induced decoherence in next-generation quantum processors.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-06-03T23:39:10Z)
• Dissipative preparation and stabilization of many-body quantum states in a superconducting qutrit array [55.41644538483948]
  We present and analyze a protocol for driven-dissipatively preparing and stabilizing a manifold of quantum manybody entangled states. We perform theoretical modeling of this platform via pulse-level simulations based on physical features of real devices. Our work shows the capacity of driven-dissipative superconducting cQED systems to host robust and self-corrected quantum manybody states.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-03-21T18:02:47Z)
• Measurement-Induced State Transitions in a Superconducting Qubit: Within the Rotating Wave Approximation [33.65845920594661]
  We study resonant transitions between levels in the coupled qubit-resonator system that exhibit noisy behavior when measured repeatedly in time. Our results suggest the transmon is excited to levels near the top of its cosine potential following a state transition.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-12-09T19:48:55Z)
• Quantum emulation of the transient dynamics in the multistate Landau-Zener model [50.591267188664666]
  We study the transient dynamics in the multistate Landau-Zener model as a function of the Landau-Zener velocity. Our experiments pave the way for more complex simulations with qubits coupled to an engineered bosonic mode spectrum.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-11-26T15:04:11Z)
• Reminiscence of classical chaos in driven transmons [117.851325578242]
  We show that even off-resonant drives can cause strong modifications to the structure of the transmon spectrum rendering a large part of it chaotic. Results lead to a photon number threshold characterizing the appearance of chaos-induced quantum demolition effects.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-07-19T16:04:46Z)
• Extensible circuit-QED architecture via amplitude- and frequency-variable microwaves [52.77024349608834]
  We introduce a circuit-QED architecture combining fixed-frequency qubits and microwave-driven couplers. Drive parameters appear as tunable knobs enabling selective two-qubit coupling and coherent-error suppression.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-04-17T22:49:56Z)
• Rotating Majorana Zero Modes in a disk geometry [75.34254292381189]
  We study the manipulation of Majorana zero modes in a thin disk made from a $p$-wave superconductor. We analyze the second-order topological corner modes that arise when an in-plane magnetic field is applied. We show that oscillations persist even in the adiabatic phase because of a frequency independent coupling between zero modes and excited states.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-09-08T11:18:50Z)
• Transmission spectra of the driven, dissipative Rabi model in the USC regime [0.0]
  We present theoretical transmission spectra of a strongly driven, damped, flux qubit coupled to a dissipative resonator. Such a qubit-oscillator system constitutes the building block of superconducting circuit QED platforms.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-04-29T16:58:52Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.