Kavli Affiliate: Gary A. Steele
| First 5 Authors: Mario F. Gely, Adrián Sanz Mora, Shun Yanai, Rik van der Spek, Daniel Bothner
| Summary:
Nonlinear damping, the change in damping rate with the amplitude of
oscillations plays an important role in many electrical, mechanical and even
biological oscillators. In novel technologies such as carbon nanotubes,
graphene membranes or superconducting resonators, the origin of nonlinear
damping is sometimes unclear. This presents a problem, as the damping rate is a
key figure of merit in the application of these systems to extremely precise
sensors or quantum computers. Through measurements of a superconducting
resonator, we show that from the interplay of quantum fluctuations and the
nonlinearity of a Josephson junction emerges a power-dependence in the
resonator response which closely resembles nonlinear damping. The phenomenon
can be understood and visualized through the flow of quasi-probability in phase
space where it reveals itself as dephasing. Crucially, the effect is not
restricted to superconducting circuits: we expect that quantum fluctuations or
other sources of noise give rise to apparent nonlinear damping in systems with
a similar conservative nonlinearity, such as nano-mechanical oscillators or
even macroscopic systems.
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