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  • Open Access

Engineering a Multilevel Bath for Transmons with Three-Wave Mixing and Parametric Drives

Xi Cao*,†,‡, Maria Mucci*, Gangqiang Liu, David Pekker, and Michael Hatridge§

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: xicao@illinois.edu
  • ‡Present address: Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
  • §Contact author: michael.hatridge@yale.edu
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 230403 – Published 4 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/mv4g-z64p

Abstract

A quantum system with a tunable bath temperature provides an additional degree of freedom for quantum simulators. Such a system can be realized by parametrically modulating the coupling between the system and the bath. Here, by coupling a transmon qubit to a lossy superconducting nonlinear asymmetric inductive element (SNAIL) mode, we experimentally create a tunable bath for the qubit mode. The effective temperature of this bath can be precisely controlled, ranging from negative to positive values. We show that the qubit can be thermalized to equilibrium with different population distributions under different parametric pumping conditions. We further extend our method to the third level of the transmon, demonstrating its potential utility beyond the two-level case. Our results provide a useful tool that can be readily integrated with quantum simulators that would benefit from a nontrivial photon population distribution.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 230403– Published 4 December, 2025
  • Received 5 May 2025
  • Revised 6 August 2025
  • Accepted 27 October 2025
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