Fluctuation-Induced Bistability in the Dissipative Dynamics of Generic Cavity-Matter Quantum Systems

Abstract:We demonstrate that fluctuation-induced bistability is a robust and generic phenomenon in strongly interacting many-body systems with strong light-matter coupling. We identify a common microscopic mechanism based on resonances between photonic transitions and many-body energy scales, unifying the emergence of fluctuation-induced bistability across a broad class of models, including interacting spins, fermions, and bosons coupled to cavity modes. We develop complementary methods to study both the steady-state properties of fluctuation-induced bistability and its dynamical formation at finite times. In particular, we introduce the dressed-state rate equation approach, which reveals rich metastable dynamics and enables the investigation of its system-size dependence. By comparing its predictions with numerically-exact tensor-network simulations, we identify signatures of fluctuation-induced bistability already in small systems on finite timescales. Our results establish fluctuation-induced bistability as a universal feature of dissipative cavity-coupled many-body systems and provide a general framework for the investigation of its non-equilibrium dynamics across a wide range of hybrid quantum platforms.

Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas); Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el); Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

arXiv:2607.21296 [cond-mat.quant-gas]

(or arXiv:2607.21296v1 [cond-mat.quant-gas] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.21296 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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