Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Steering in Three Coupled Harmonic Oscillators

Abstract

Quantum steering is one of the most intriguing phenomena in quantum mechanics and is essential for understanding correlations in multi-body systems. Despite its importance, analytical results for coupled three-body oscillators remain scarce. In this work, we investigate this phenomenon through a geometrical diagonalization approach, which reduces the degrees of freedom associated with the system's steering properties. Specifically, we derive analytical expressions for quantum steering in all possible directions using the Wigner function framework, as it provides a complete description of the system's quantum state. Our results indicate that excitations significantly enhance quantum steering across the system; this stands in contrast to the ground state $(0,0,0)$, which exhibits no steerable correlations. Furthermore, both the directionality and topology of these correlations are governed by the spatial distribution of the excitations rather than their magnitude. We also observe symmetric steering behavior between oscillators $x$, $y$, and $z$ under equivalent excitation conditions, which can be formalized as $S^{(n,m,l)}_{x\to z}(θ)=S^{(n,m,l)}_{x\to y}(-θ),\quad S^{(n,m,l)}_{z\to x}(θ)=S^{(n,m,l)}_{y\to x}(-θ)$, and $S^{(n,m,l)}_{y\to z}(θ)=S^{(n,m,l)}_{z\to y}(-θ)$. Therefore, we elucidate how excitation levels and mixing angles generate and enhance steering in three coupled harmonic oscillators.