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Excitable quantum systems: The bosonic avalanche laser

Louis Garbe* and Peter Rabl

  • *Contact author: Louis.garbe@wmi.badw.de
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Phys. Rev. A 114, 013723 – Published 28 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/xn1v-mwvm

Abstract

We investigate the dynamics of a lasing system driven by a current of bosonic (quasi-)particles via a dissipative three-mode mixing process. A semiclassical analysis of this system predicts distinct dynamical regimes, where both the cavity mode and the gain medium can undergo lasing transitions. Of particular interest is an intermediate self-pulsing phase that exhibits the characteristics of an excitable system and converts random input signals into separated, quasi-periodic pulses at the output. By performing exact Monte Carlo simulations, we extend this analysis into the quantum regime and show that despite being dominated by huge bosonic particle number fluctuations, this effect survives even for rather low average photon numbers. Our system thus represents an intriguing model of an excitable quantum many-body system, with practical relevance for quantum detectors or autonomous quantum machines. As an illustration, we discuss the realization of this system with superconducting quantum circuits and its application as a number-resolved avalanche detector for microwave photons.

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 013723– Published 28 July, 2026
  • Received 29 September 2025
  • Revised 17 March 2026
  • Accepted 30 June 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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