High-frequency approximation for periodically driven quantum systems from a Floquet-space perspective

We derive a systematic high-frequency expansion for the effective Hamiltonian and the micromotion operator of periodically driven quantum systems. Our approach is based on the block diagonalization of the quasienergy operator in the extended Floquet Hilbert space by means of degenerate perturbation theory. The final results are equivalent to those obtained within a different approach (Rahav et al 2003 Phys. Rev. A 68 013820), (Goldman and Dalibard 2014 Phys. Rev. X 4 031027) and can also be related to the Floquet–Magnus expansion (Casas et al 2001 J. Phys. A 34 3379). We discuss that the dependence on the driving phase, which plagues the latter, can lead to artifactual symmetry breaking. The high-frequency approach is illustrated using the example of a periodically driven Hubbard model. Moreover, we discuss the nature of the approximation and its limitations for systems of many interacting particles.