Anisotropic Rabi model with two-photon relaxation

The interplay of three light-matter interaction processes, i.e., rotating and counterrotating interactions and two-photon relaxation of the light field, is a topic of interest in quantum optics and quantum information processing. In this work we investigate theoretically the three light-matter interaction processes using the anisotropic Rabi model, which accounts for different strengths of rotating and counterrotating interactions and the unique occurrence of photon escape exclusively in pairs. By numerically solving the Lindblad master equation, we analyze the excitation-relaxation dynamics and derive a non-Hermitian effective Hamiltonian to gain further physical insights. To explore the individual effects of these interactions, we examine three analytically tractable limits of the effective Hamiltonian. Our analysis reveals that the three competitive light-matter interaction processes exhibit sensitivity to parity, leading to intriguing phenomena in both transient and steady states. Particularly interesting dynamical patterns resembling quantum phase transitions emerge when these three interaction terms compete. This work deepens the understanding of ultrastrong light-matter interaction in open quantum systems and offers valuable insights into cavity-based quantum computations.