Title: Skew-Gaussian model of small-photon-number coherent Ising machines

Abstract: A Gaussian quantum theory of bosonic modes has been widely used to describe quantum optical systems, including coherent Ising machines (CIMs) that consist of $\chi^{(2)}$ degenerate optical parametric oscillators (DOPOs) as nonlinear elements. However, Gaussian models have been thought to be invalid in the extremely strong-gain-saturation limit. Here, we develop an extended Gaussian model including two third-order fluctuation products, $\langle \delta \hat{X}^3\rangle$ and $\langle \delta \hat{X}\delta \hat{P}^2\rangle$, which we call self-skewness and cross-skewness, respectively. This new model which we call skew-Gaussian model more precisely replicates the success probability predicted by the quantum master equation (QME), relative to Gaussian models. We also discuss the impact of skew variables on the performance of CIMs.