Gardin, A.Bourcin, G.Person, C.Fumeaux, C.Lebrun, R.Boventer, I.Tettamanzi, G.C.Castel, V.2025-05-292025-05-292025Physical Review Applied, 2025; 23(1):014048-1-014048-192331-70192331-7019https://hdl.handle.net/2440/144791Coherent and dissipative couplings, respectively characterized by energy level repulsion and attraction, each have different applications for quantum information processing. Thus, a system in which both coherent and dissipative couplings are tunable on demand and in situ is tantalizing. A first step towards this goal is the two-tone driving of two bosonic modes, whose experimental signature was shown to exhibit controllable level repulsion and attraction by changing the phase and amplitude of one drive. However, whether the underlying physics is that of coherent and dissipative couplings has not been clarified, and cannot be concluded solely from the measured resonances (or antiresonances) of the system. Here, we show how the physics at play can be analyzed theoretically. Combining this theory with realistic finiteelement simulations, we deduce that the observation of level attraction originates from interferences due to the measurement setup, and not dissipative coupling. Beyond the clarification of the origin of level attraction attributed to interference, our work demonstrates how effective Hamiltonians should be derived to appropriately describe the physics.en© 2025 American Physical Societyquantum information processing; couplings; Hamiltonians; physics.Journal article10.1103/physrevapplied.23.014048727028Gardin, A. [0000-0002-9825-9963]Fumeaux, C. [0000-0001-6831-7213]Tettamanzi, G.C. [0000-0002-3209-0632]