Squeezing, trisqueezing and quadsqueezing in a hybrid oscillator–spin system

Abstract Quantum harmonic oscillators model phenomena from electromagnetic fields to molecular vibrations, with excitations represented by bosons such as photons or phonons. Linear interactions that create or annihilate single bosons generate coherent states of light or motion. Introducing higher-order nonlinear interactions produces richer quantum behaviour: second-order interactions enable squeezing, whereas higher-order interactions generate non-Gaussian states useful for continuous-variable quantum computation. However, such interactions are usually weak or require specialized hardware. Hybrid systems, where a linear interaction couples an oscillator to a spin, offer an alternative. Here we combine two spin-dependent linear bosonic interactions to implement up to fourth-order nonlinear bosonic interactions in a single trapped ion, focusing on generalized squeezing. We demonstrate and characterize squeezing, trisqueezing and quadsqueezing; reconstruct the Wigner functions of the resulting states; and achieve quadsqueezing over 100 times faster than conventional methods. The approach has no fundamental limit on the interaction order and applies to any platform supporting spin-dependent linear interactions.