arXiv · 1609.08714
Nonlinear damping and dephasing in nanomechanical systems
Abstract
We present a microscopic theory of nonlinear damping and dephasing of low-frequency eigenmodes in nano- and micro-mechanical systems. The mechanism of the both effects is scattering of thermally excited vibrational modes off the considered eigenmode. The scattering is accompanied by energy transfer of $2\hbar\omega_0$ for nonlinear damping and is quasieleastic for dephasing. We develop a formalism that allows studying both spatially uniform systems and systems with a strong nonuniformity, which is smooth on the typical wavelength of thermal modes but not their mean free path. The formalism accounts for the decay of thermal modes, which plays a major role in the nonlinear damping and dephasing. We identify the nonlinear analogs of the Landau-Rumer, thermoelastic, and Akhiezer mechanisms and find the dependence of the relaxation parameters on the temperature and the geometry of a system.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
J. Atalaya, T. W. Kenny, M. L. Roukes, M. I. Dykman. 2016-09-28. Nonlinear damping and dephasing in nanomechanical systems. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.94.195440
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.