Multi-Photon Rabi Oscillations

• Multi-photon Rabi oscillations are coherent, periodic population transfers induced by the simultaneous absorption or emission of multiple photons, distinct from single-photon processes.
• They rely on higher-order perturbative and Floquet methods, and are experimentally realized in platforms like nonlinear optical cavities, superconducting circuits, and multi-level spin systems.
• These oscillations underpin applications in deterministic state preparation, entanglement generation, and robust quantum gate operations in advanced quantum technologies.

Multi-photon Rabi oscillations are coherent, periodic population transfers between quantum states induced by the simultaneous absorption or emission of multiple photons, with the oscillation frequency determined by coherent multiphoton coupling. Such oscillations arise across a range of physical architectures—including nonlinear photonic cavities, superconducting and atomic systems, multi-level spins, and strongly-driven quantum oscillators—where selection rules or detuning suppress single-photon transitions or where nonlinearities enable direct population transfer via higher-order processes. They are fundamentally distinct from single-photon Rabi oscillations, forming the basis of coherent manipulation protocols in quantum optics, quantum information, and condensed-matter platforms.

1. Theoretical Foundations and General Formalism

The canonical description involves identifying a degenerate (or near-degenerate) manifold of states—typically separated by $N\hbar\omega$—in which $N$ photons produce the resonant coupling. In a simple two-level system, the fully quantum multi-photon Rabi oscillation between, e.g., $|g\rangle$ and $|e\rangle$ upon $N$-photon driving is governed by an effective coupling $\Omega_N$ that emerges through $N$th-order perturbation theory or via an exact Floquet/Sambe construction (Huang et al., 19 Sep 2025). For example, in driven two-level systems,

$$H = \frac{\hbar\omega_0}{2}\sigma_z + \mathcal{A}\cos(N\omega t)\cdot V$$

the effective $N$th-order coupling

$\Omega_N \sim \frac{\mathcal{A}^N}{\Delta^{N-1}}$

links $|g,0\rangle$ and $|e,N\rangle$, where $\Delta$ is the intermediate-state detuning and $V$ the appropriate dipole operator component. The generalized Rabi oscillation between states $|g\rangle$ and $|e\rangle$ then follows as

$$P_e(t) = \frac{\Omega_N^2}{\Omega_N^2 + \Delta_N^2} \sin^2\big(\tfrac{1}{2}\sqrt{\Omega_N^2 + \Delta_N^2}\,t\big)$$

with detuning $\Delta_N$ set by photon energy mismatch and AC-Stark shifts.

In multi-photon Jaynes–Cummings models, the Rabi frequencies scale with the photon occupation as $\Omega_n^{(k)} \sim g\,\sqrt{(n+1)\ldots(n+k)}$ for $k$-photon processes, while in nonlinear cavity QED, virtual transitions mediated by counter-rotating or four-wave-mixing terms can induce effective multi-photon couplings $g^k/\Delta^{k-1}$, where $g$ is the light-matter coupling (Garziano et al., 2015).

2. Microscopic Realizations and Hamiltonians

2.1 Nonlinear Optical Cavities

Kerr-type nonlinear resonators realize two-photon Rabi oscillations via four-wave mixing (FWM) terms of the form $u a_1^\dagger a_2^\dagger a_0 a_0 + \mathrm{h.c.}$, enabling transitions between $|2_0\rangle$ and $|1_1,1_2\rangle$. The effective two-level Hamiltonian is

$$H_{2\mathrm{ph}} = \begin{pmatrix} 2\omega_0 & \sqrt{2}u \ \sqrt{2}u & \omega_1 + \omega_2 \end{pmatrix}$$

with a two-photon Rabi frequency $\Omega = \sqrt{\delta^2 + 8|u|^2}$ ($\delta \equiv \omega_1 + \omega_2 - 2\omega_0$). These oscillations are damped by loss, with high-finesse ($Q$) and strong nonlinearity ($\chi^{(3)}$) required for their resolution (Sherkunov et al., 2016).

2.2 Multi-Level Spins and Spin Ensembles

In high-spin systems (e.g., $S=5/2$ Mn$^{2+}$), multi-photon Rabi oscillations arise when microwave driving fields match energy differences between non-neighboring Zeeman sublevels, with cubic or higher anisotropy playing a critical role. The effective $n$-photon splitting scales as

$$\Omega_n \sim \frac{(g\mu_B h_\mathrm{mw})^n}{(\mathrm{anisotropy})^{n-1}}$$

and can be tuned via field orientation or microwave amplitude. Multiple frequencies may coexist in the Rabi spectrum, enabling manifold-specific selective control (Bertaina et al., 2011, Bertaina et al., 2011).

2.3 Driven Quantum Oscillators with Nonlinearity

A quantum oscillator with Kerr and over-Kerr nonlinearities subject to coherent driving exhibits $N$-photon Rabi oscillations under resonance between levels $|n\rangle$ and $|n'\rangle$ ($n-n'=N$). In the Kerr case, drive-noise-induced dephasing of Rabi oscillations is suppressed by spectral symmetry; for over-Kerr, amplitude noise leads to decay and eventual suppression of Rabi flopping (Nikitchuk et al., 2023).

2.4 Circuit and Cavity QED

In the ultrastrong-coupling regime, the quantum Rabi or Rabi–Stark Hamiltonians admit processes that violate excitation number. This enables, e.g., three-photon Rabi oscillations between $|e,0\rangle$ and $|g,3\rangle$ when $3\omega_c\approx\omega_q$. The effective Hamiltonian in the subspace

$$H_\mathrm{eff} = \Delta |e,0\rangle \langle e,0| + \Delta'|g,3\rangle\langle g,3| - \Omega_3( |e,0\rangle \langle g,3| + \mathrm{h.c.} )$$

gives oscillations at frequency $\Omega_3 \propto g^3/\Delta^2$ (Garziano et al., 2015, Yan et al., 1 Aug 2024, Cong et al., 2019).

2.5 Waveguide QED

Scattering of a multi-photon Fock state by a two-level emitter in a one-dimensional waveguide produces quantum Rabi oscillations in the excited-state probability, with explicit solutions exhibiting superpositions of sequential absorption/emission processes. In the strong-pumping, resonant limit, the excitation probability approaches the semiclassical sinusoid $\sin^2(\Omega_N t)$ (Mukhopadhyay et al., 2023).

3. Measurement Protocols, Experimental Signatures, and Scaling Laws

3.1 Time-Resolved and Spectroscopic Manifestations

Multiphoton Rabi oscillations manifest in oscillatory populations, emission rates, and second-order correlation functions. In nonlinear cavities, $g^{(2)}(t)$ and photon-number occupations oscillate at the multi-photon Rabi frequency. In spin and atomic systems, pulsed and continuous driving yield Rabi nutations whose frequencies and damping reflect the underlying multi-photon processes and noise sources (Sherkunov et al., 2016, Liedl et al., 2022, Beterov et al., 2 Oct 2024).

Observation in experiments requires $\Omega_N \gg \gamma$ (decay rate), with contrasts and coherence times limited by spontaneous emission, inhomogeneous broadening, dephasing, or technical noise. The parameter dependence is typically

$$\Omega_N \sim \begin{cases} \frac{g^N}{\Delta^{N-1}} \quad&\text{(virtual processes)} \ J_N(A)/A \quad&\text{(driven Raman transitions)} \end{cases}$$

for coupling $g$, drive amplitude $A$, and intermediate-state detuning $\Delta$.

3.2 Scaling with Order and Nonlinearity

The Rabi frequency for an $N$-photon process decreases rapidly ($\sim g^N/\Delta^{N-1}$) with increasing order $N$, and the Bloch–Siegert or AC-Stark shifts become increasingly important. For large $N$, nonresonant terms and effective Hamiltonian corrections must be included for quantitative accuracy (Saiko et al., 2018, Huang et al., 19 Sep 2025).

Bloch–Siegert shifts, arising from antiresonant (counter-rotating) contributions, dominate higher-order processes and shift both the resonance condition and Rabi frequency. This effect is crucial for matching experimental observations in, e.g., NV centers and superconducting artificial atoms (Saiko et al., 2018).

3.3 Quantum Statistics and Collapse/Revival

For quantized initial fields, multiphoton Rabi oscillations encode the photon-number statistics. In Jaynes–Cummings settings, summing over the photon-number distribution produces collapse and revival of Rabi oscillations with characteristic timescales scaling as $$T_c \sim 1/(\partial \Omega_n^{(k)}/\partial n)\Delta n$$ and $$T_r\sim 2\pi/(\partial^2 \Omega_n^{(k)}/\partial n^2)$$. Squeezed coherent states narrow the photon-number variance and sharpen the revival (Alexanian, 2019, Assemat et al., 2019).

4. Example Physical Platforms

Platform	Dominant Physics	Key Experimental/Analysis Reference
Kerr-nonlinear resonators (3-mode models)	Four-wave mixing	(Sherkunov et al., 2016)
High-spin paramagnetic impurities (Mn$^{2+}$)	Multi-photon EPR transitions	(Bertaina et al., 2011, Bertaina et al., 2011)
NV centers, superconducting qubits	Multi-photon Raman transitions	(Saiko et al., 2018, Huang et al., 19 Sep 2025)
Rubidium Rydberg atoms (multi-photon driving)	Three-photon population transfer	(Beterov et al., 2 Oct 2024)
Semiconductor QD-MNP nanostructures	Plasmon-enhanced 2-photon Rabi	(Nugroho et al., 2018)
Ultrastrong circuit QED	Anomalous $N$-photon vacuum oscillations	(Garziano et al., 2015, Yan et al., 1 Aug 2024, Cong et al., 2019)
Waveguide QED	Multi-photon quantum scattering	(Mukhopadhyay et al., 2023, Talukdar et al., 2022)
Driven quantum nonlinear oscillators	Noise-protected/suppressed Rabi	(Nikitchuk et al., 2023)

5. Applications and Control Protocols

Multiphoton Rabi oscillations are instrumental for:

• Deterministic Fock-state generation (e.g., halt evolution at $\pi/2\Omega_N$ for $|n\rangle$ photonic states) (Garziano et al., 2015).
• Preparation of entangled states: e.g., qubit–photon entanglement or multipartite Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) states via engineered multi-photon couplings (Garziano et al., 2015).
• Quantum gates and coherent control: multi-photon transitions offer alternative protocols for robust gates or for accessing “dark” subspaces inaccessible by single-photon processes. The phase and amplitude of oscillations can be shaped using Raman process parameters or pulse shape (Saiko et al., 2018, Liedl et al., 2022, Saiko et al., 2016).
• Quantum frequency conversion and nonlinear optics: strong multi-photon coupling enables efficient photon up- or down-conversion and photon-pair sources in both circuit and photonic systems (Yan et al., 1 Aug 2024, Nugroho et al., 2018).
• Quantum interference and Hong–Ou–Mandel effects in atomic and photonic contexts, as demonstrated in multi-$\Lambda$ cold-atom systems with center-of-mass dynamics (Hartmann et al., 7 Jul 2025).

6. Experimental Challenges and Robustness

Key requirements for observing coherent multi-photon Rabi oscillations include suppression of decoherence, engineering of strong nonlinearity, and tailoring of drive strengths relative to loss and selection rules. In driven nonlinear oscillators, symmetry (as in pure Kerr) can protect oscillations from amplitude noise, while over-Kerr contributions break this protection and lead to rapid damping (Nikitchuk et al., 2023).

Similarly, in complex cavity or waveguide environments, residual coupling to continua or auxiliary modes can suppress long-lived oscillations unless the system can be mapped to an effectively closed two-level polaron–emitter manifold (Talukdar et al., 2022).

Scalable protocols depend on mastering these control requirements while compensating drive-induced shifts, nonresonant terms, and field-noise effects. Current platforms—Rydberg atoms, superconducting circuits, nanofiber-coupled atoms, quantum dots, and multi-level spins—provide testbeds where most of these challenges have been addressed quantitatively and in excellent experiment–theory agreement.

7. Outlook and Future Directions

Multiphoton Rabi oscillations continue to catalyze advances in quantum technologies by enabling coherent population transfer, nonclassical state generation, and nontrivial gate operations beyond the single-photon paradigm. Advances in Floquet engineering, beyond-RWA Hamiltonian theory, and precision control protocols are expanding the accessible parameter regimes, particularly for higher-order processes ($N\geq3$) (Huang et al., 19 Sep 2025). Emerging areas focus on nonequilibrium quantum dynamics, engineering of noise-resilient architectures, exploitation of multiphoton nonlinearities for quantum simulation, and interfacing multipartite entanglement across hybrid quantum systems. The unifying theoretical frameworks and analytic results surveyed here underpin the ongoing development of multi-photon control modalities in quantum science.