Period tripling due to Josephson parametric down-conversion beyond the rotating-wave approximation

Abstract

Parametrically driven oscillators can display period-tripling in response to a drive at thrice the resonance frequency. In contrast to the parametric instability for period doubling, the symmetric fixed-point corresponding to the state of rest remains stable at arbitrary strong driving for the tripling transition. Previously, it has been shown that fluctuations can circumvent this and induce a period-tripling instability. In this article, we explore an alternative way of inducing a period-tripling transition by investigating properties of period-tripling due to parametric down-conversion beyond the rotating-wave approximation. We show that despite the absence of an instability threshold, off-resonant frequency contributions can induce a period-tripling transition by activating the parametric down-conversion. Moreover, we study the subsequent period-tripled states of the Josephson potential and discuss the asymmetry between the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotating fixed-points that only arises beyond the rotating-wave approximation.