Quantum correlated steady states under competing collective and individual decay
Phys. Rev. A 114, 013720 – Published 24 July, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/cy7b-hsl3
Abstract
Collective dissipation can generate useful quantum correlations, while ubiquitous individual decay destroys them. We study the interplay between these two competing processes considering a driven system of many spins (“atoms”) undergoing both collective and individual dissipation (“radiation”). In the steady state and depending on drive, we find that the system exhibits a first-order phase transition and quantum bistability: its quantum state is a mixture of two many-body states associated with the two competing decay processes. Accordingly, one of these states closely resembles a correlated “coherently radiating spin state” (CRSS)—the solution of purely collective dissipation—exhibiting spin-squeezing entanglement. We predict dynamical switching between the two stable states, manifest as many-body quantum jumps in the various observables of spin and radiation. Macroscopically, the switching rate tends to vanish and the system can reside in a correlated CRSS for long times. This reveals how correlated dissipative physics emerges at the presence of decorrelating individual decay, opening a path for unlocking collective dissipation phenomena in realistic quantum platforms and applications. We discuss consequences for experiments in collective radiation.
