Symmetries in the Quantum Rabi Model

Abstract

The quantum Rabi model is the simplest and most important theoretical description of light–matter interaction for all experimentally accessible coupling regimes. It can be solved exactly and is even integrable due to a discrete symmetry, the Z 2 or parity symmetry. All qualitative properties of its spectrum, especially the differences to the Jaynes–Cummings model, which possesses a larger, continuous symmetry, can be understood in terms of the so-called “G-functions” whose zeroes yield the exact eigenvalues of the Rabi Hamiltonian. The special type of integrability appearing in systems with discrete degrees of freedom is responsible for the absence of Poissonian level statistics in the spectrum while its well-known “Juddian” solutions are a natural consequence of the structure of the G-functions. The poles of these functions are known in closed form, which allows drawing conclusions about the global spectrum.