Shapiro spikes in driven quantum fluids

Abstract

Periodic driving of a Josephson junction produces resonant transport signatures known as Shapiro spikes, conventionally described by effective circuit models. Here, we demonstrate Shapiro spikes in a neutral quantum fluid using simulations of a potential-biased atomic Josephson junction. The dc-current resonances follow the expected Bessel-function scaling, including the suppression and revival of individual resonances with increasing modulation strength. We uncover their microscopic mechanism by showing that the phase-winding frequency develops finite plateaus at integer multiples of the drive frequency. These phase-locked states are sustained by quantized-vortex nucleation and the associated $2π$ phase slips. Remarkably, within a locking plateau, the dc current and density transfer can reverse direction while the phase-winding frequency remains locked to the drive, giving rise to negative-mobility transport. Our results establish a microscopic link between vortex-mediated phase slips, Shapiro resonances, and anomalous transport in a neutral quantum fluid, revealing how quantized vortices convert resonant transport into phase-locked dynamics with negative mobility.