Abstract
Electromagnetic fields possess zero point fluctuations (ZPF) which lead to observable
effects such as the Lamb shift and the Casimir effect. In the traditional quantum optics domain, these corrections remain perturbative due to the smallness of the fine structure constant. To provide a direct observation of non-perturbative effects driven by ZPF in an open quantum system we wire a highly non-linear Josephson junction to a high impedance transmission line, allowing large phase fluctuations across the junction. Consequently, the resonance of the former acquires a relative frequency shift that is orders of magnitude larger than for natural atoms. Detailed modeling confirms that this renormalization is non-linear and quantum. In addition, the junction transfers its non-linearity to about 30 environmental modes, a striking back-action effect that transcends the standard Caldeira-Leggett paradigm. This leads to large photon decay that we understand as frequency conversion caused by the highly non-linear cosine potential of the Josephson junction. This work opens many exciting prospects for longstanding quests such as the tailoring of many-body Hamiltonians in the strongly non-linear regime, the observation of Bloch oscillations, highly efficient photon conversion or the development of high-impedance qubits.
