Measures of quantum synchronization in continuous variable systems

Abstract

We introduce and characterize two different measures which quantify the level of synchronization of interacting continuous variable quantum systems. The two measures allow to extend to the quantum domain the notions of complete and phase synchronization. The Heisenberg principle sets a universal bound to complete synchronization. The measure of phase synchronization is in principle unbounded, however in the absence of quantum resources (e.g. squeezing) the synchronization level is bounded below a certain threshold. We elucidate some interesting connections between entanglement and synchronization and, finally, discuss an application based on quantum opto-mechanical systems.