Engineering dissipative interactions in superconducting photon-pressure circuits

Superconducting quantum circuits are key components in quantum information processing and quantum sensing. Recent advances have introduced photon-pressure (PP) coupling as an interaction analogous to radiation-pressure in optomechanics, enabling control over low-frequency (LF) photons via high-frequency (HF) microwave cavities. While dispersive PP coupling (where the LF current modulates the HF resonance frequency) is well-established, exploring dissipative PP coupling (where the LF current modulates the decay rate of the high-frequency mode) would offer promising new possibilities. In this work, we report on the concept and our experimental progress towards such a dissipative PP in superconducting circuits. By embedding two superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) into the HF mode of a PP platform, we can achieve PP modulation of the external linewidth of the high-frequency circuit without affecting its resonance frequency. More precisely, our concept will enable the in-situ choice of an arbitrary ratio of dispersive-to-dissipative PP. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach and lay the groundwork for further explorations into LF quantum optics and non-classical state preparation, potentially beyond the resolved-sideband regime.