Squeezed Light Induced Symmetry Breaking Superradiant Phase Transition

We theoretically investigate the quantum phase transition in the collective systems of qubits in a high quality cavity, where the cavity field is squeezed via the optical parametric amplification process. We show that the squeezed light induced symmetry breaking can result in quantum phase transition without the ultrastrong coupling requirement. Using the standard mean field theory, we derive the condition of the quantum phase transition. Surprisingly, we show that there exists a tricritical point where the first- and second-order phase transitions meet. With specific atom-cavity coupling strengths, both the first- and second-order phase transition can be controlled by the nonlinear gain coefficient, which is sensitive to the pump field. These features also lead to an optical switching from the normal phase to the superradiant phase by just increasing the pump field intensity. The signature of these phase transitions can be observed by detecting the phase space Wigner function distribution with different profiles controlled by the squeezed light intensity. Such superradiant phase transition can be implemented in various quantum systems, including atoms, quantum dots, and ions in optical cavities as well as the circuit quantum electrodynamics system.