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Autonomous Stabilization of Floquet States Using Static Dissipation

Martin Ritter1, David M. Long1,2,3, Qianao Yue1, Anushya Chandran4,5, and Alicia J. Kollár1,*

  • *Contact author: akollar@umd.edu
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Phys. Rev. X 15, 031028 – Published 25 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/3dpp-p2pr

Abstract

Floquet engineering, in which the properties of a quantum system are modified through the application of strong periodic drives, is an indispensable tool in atomic and condensed matter systems. However, it is inevitably limited by intrinsic heating processes. We describe a simple autonomous scheme, which exploits a static coupling between the driven system and a lossy auxiliary, to cool large classes of Floquet systems into desired states. We present experimental and theoretical evidence for the stabilization of a chosen quasienergy state in a strongly modulated transmon qubit coupled to an auxiliary microwave cavity with fixed frequency and photon loss. The scheme naturally extends to Floquet systems with multiple degrees of freedom. As an example, we demonstrate the stabilization of topological photon pumping in a driven cavity-QED system numerically. The coupling to the auxiliary cavity increases the average photon current and the fidelity of nonclassical states, such as high-photon-number Fock states, that can be prepared in the system cavity.

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Popular Summary

Quantum computers and simulators are becoming more powerful, but they are still limited by the physical systems used to build them. Floquet engineering, which involves periodically changing system parameters, offers a way to expand what these quantum devices can do. However, this technique usually comes with unwanted side effects, such as heating and loss, which hurt performance. In this study, we find a surprising solution: We can reduce these side effects by deliberately adding a simple, controlled source of loss.

We test this idea using a microwave cavity linked to a superconducting transmon qubit. By applying slowly changing control fields, we simulate the kind of periodic modulation used in Floquet engineering. We show that when we introduce a carefully tuned static loss source, it actually helps eliminate errors that come from the modulation process. Our experiment proves the concept works, and our theoretical analysis shows that this approach can be extended to faster modulation schemes and to more complex quantum systems.

This finding opens new possibilities for designing quantum devices that use Floquet engineering without suffering from the usual downsides. By using loss in a smart way, we could build more stable and powerful quantum systems.

Article Text

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Phys. Rev. X 15, 031028– Published 25 July, 2025
  • Received 14 November 2024
  • Revised 7 March 2025
  • Accepted 7 July 2025
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