Cat states in one- and two-mode $\mathbb{Z}_3$ Rabi models

Abstract

We investigate one- and two-mode variants of the $\mathbb{Z}_3$-symmetric quantum Rabi model, which describe the interaction of a qutrit with one or two bosonic modes and are directly relevant for circuit-QED and spin-qudit platforms. We find a canonical transformation that allows one to obtain the spectrum of the $\mathbb{Z}_3$ Rabi model using perturbation theory in a magnetic field. We show that in a certain parameter regime (deep-strong-coupling and a small magnetic field) the three lowest eigenstates become $\mathbb{Z}_3$ qutrit-boson cat states. In order to characterize these states we introduce a joint qutrit-boson Wigner function and derive its closed-form expression for the qutrit-boson cat states. Numerical calculations across a wide range of coupling strengths show that the proposed Wigner function is a useful tool that allows one to unambiguously identify the $\mathbb{Z}_{3}$ qutrit-boson cat states.