Avoided crossing and sub-Fourier sensitivity in driven quantum systems

Abstract

The response of a linear system to an external perturbation is governed by the Fourier limit, with the inverse of the interaction time constituting a lower limit for the system bandwidth. This does not hold for nonlinear systems, which can thus exhibit sub-Fourier behavior. The present work identifies a mechanism for sub-Fourier sensitivity in driven quantum systems, which relies on avoided crossing between Floquet states. Features up to three orders of magnitude finer than the Fourier limit are presented.