We study the quantum phase transition of the Dicke model in the classical oscillator limit, where it occurs already for finite spin length. In contrast to the classical spin limit, for which spin-oscillator entanglement diverges at the transition, entanglement in the classical oscillator limit remains small. We derive the quantum phase transition with identical critical behavior in the two classical limits and explain the differences with respect to quantum fluctuations around the mean-field ground state through an effective model for the oscillator degrees of freedom. With numerical data for the full quantum model we study convergence to the classical limits. We contrast the classical oscillator limit with the dual limit of a high frequency oscillator, where the spin degrees of freedom are described by the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model. An alternative limit can be defined for the Rabi case of spin length one-half, in which spin frequency renormalization replaces the quantum phase transition.

We establish the emergence of chaotic motion in optomechanical systems. Chaos appears at negative detuning for experimentally accessible values of the pump power and other system parameters. We describe the sequence of period-doubling bifurcations that leads to chaos and state the experimentally observable signatures in the optical spectrum. In addition to the semiclassical dynamics, we analyze the possibility of chaotic motion in the quantum regime. We find that quantum mechanics protects the optomechanical system against irregular dynamics, such that simple periodic orbits reappear and replace the classically chaotic motion. In this way observation of the dynamical signatures makes it possible to pin down the crossover from quantum to classical mechanics.

We study the dynamical properties of the Dicke model for increasing spin length, as the system approaches the limit of a classical spin. First, we describe the emergence of collective excitations above the groundstate that converge to the coupled spin-oscillator oscillations found in the classical limit. The corresponding Green functions reveal quantum dynamical signatures close to the superradiant quantum phase transition. Second, we identify signatures of classical quasi-periodic orbits in the quantum time evolution using numerical time-propagation of the wave function. The resulting phase space plots are compared to the classical trajectories. We complete our study with the analysis of individual eigenstates close to the quasi-periodic orbits.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figure

We consider the dynamics of atomic and field coherent states in the non-resonant Dicke model. At weak coupling an initial product state evolves into a superposition of multiple field coherent states that are correlated with the atomic configuration. This process is accompanied by the buildup and decay of atom-field entanglement and leads to the periodic collapse and revival of Rabi oscillations. We provide a perturbative derivation of the underlying dynamical mechanism that complements the rotating wave approximation at resonance. The identification of two different time scales explains how the dynamical signatures depend on the sign of detuning between the atomic and field frequency, and predicts the generation of either atomic or field cat states in the two opposite cases. We finally discuss the restrictions that the buildup of atom-field entanglement during the collapse of Rabi oscillations imposes on the validity of semi-classical approximations that neglect entanglement.

-Classical optomechanical systems feature self-sustained oscillations, where multiple periodic orbits at different amplitudes coexist. We study how this multistability is realized in the quantum regime, where new dynamical patterns appear because quantum trajectories can move between different classical orbits. We explain the resulting quantum dynamics from the phase space point of view, and provide a quantitative description in terms of autocorrelation functions. In this way we can identify clear dynamical signatures of the crossover from classical to quantum mechanics in experimentally accessible quantities. Finally, we discuss a possible interpretation of our results in the sense that quantum mechanics protects optomechanical systems against the chaotic dynamics realized in the classical limit.Introduction. -The interaction of light with mechanical objects [1, 2] enjoys continued interest due to the successful construction and manipulation of optomechanical devices over a wide range of system sizes and parameter combinations (see the recent reviews [3,4] and references cited therein). With these devices both classical non-linear dynamics such as self-sustained oscillations [5][6][7][8] and chaos [9-11] as well as quantum mechanical mechanisms such as cooling into the groundstate [12,13] and quantum non-demolition measurements [14][15][16] can be studied in a unified experimental setup.This raises the question whether it might be possible to detect the crossover from classical to quantum mechanics directly in the dynamical behaviour of optomechanical systems. In a previous paper [11] we observed that the classical dynamical patterns, which are characterized by the multistability of self-sustained oscillations, change in a characteristic way if one moves into the quantum regime. Previously stable orbits become unstable, the system oscillates at a new amplitude, and especially the classical chaotic dynamics is almost immediately replaced by simple periodic oscillations. In this paper we explain this behaviour from the point of view of classical and quantum phase space dynamics. Most importantly, we will show that the dynamical patterns do not change at random but that clearly identifiable and new signatures can be observed.