Non-Hermitian topology in a single driven-dissipative Kerr-Cat qubit

Abstract:The intriguing physical phenomena associated with exceptional points have established non-Hermitian physics as a frontier of modern research. Recent investigations have extended non-Hermitian physics into the fully quantum domain. However, existing studies predominantly concentrate on discrete-variable quantum systems, while non-Hermitian quantum effects in continuous-variable encoded systems remain largely unexplored. In this work, we investigate the exceptional structure for a driven-dissipative Kerr-cat qubit, realized with a Kerr nonlinear resonator. We find that the dissipation leads to a bidirectional jump between the two basis states of the cat qubit, which is in distinct contrast with the unidirectional jump associated with normal two-level systems. The competition between this jump and a single-photon drive gives arise to the emergence of third-order Liouvillian exceptional points (LEP3s), each corresponds to a crossing point of two lines of LEP2s. We further show that the LEP3 can exhibit the topological character of the Hamiltonian EP3s, which cannot be realized with a single qubit. Our work opens the possibility of realizing non-Hermitian phenomena with continuous-variable quantum systems.

arXiv:2511.18482 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2511.18482v2 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2511.18482 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 69, 260313 (2026)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-025-2933-x Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources

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