From the measurement of a reflection spectrum of an open microwave cavity the poles of the scattering matrix in the complex plane have been determined. The resonances have been extracted by means of the harmonic inversion method. By this it became possible to resolve the resonances in a regime where the line widths exceed the mean level spacing up to a factor of 10, a value inaccessible in experiments up to now. The obtained experimental distributions of line widths were found to be in perfect agreement with predictions from random matrix theory when wall absorption and fluctuations caused by couplings to additional channels are considered.
Nodal domains are studied both for real $psi_R$ and imaginary part $psi_I$ of the wavefunctions of an open microwave cavity and found to show the same behavior as wavefunctions in closed billiards. In addition we investigate the variation of the number of nodal domains and the signed area correlation by changing the global phase $phi_g$ according to $psi_R+ipsi_I=e^{iphi_g}(psi_R+ipsi_I)$. This variation can be qualitatively, and the correlation quantitatively explained in terms of the phase rigidity characterising the openness of the billiard.
We study the microwave impedance of extremely high aspect ratio (length/width ~ 5,000) superconducting niobium nitride nanowires. The nanowires are fabricated in a compact meander geometry that is in series with the center conductor of a 50 ohm coplanar waveguide transmission line. The transmission coefficient of the sample is measured up to 20 GHz. At high frequency, a peak in the transmission coefficient is seen. Numerical simulations show that this is a half-wave resonance along the length of the nanowire, where the nanowire acts as a high impedance, slow wave transmission line. This resonance sets the upper frequency limit for these nanowires as inductive elements. Fitting simulations to the measured resonance enables a precise determination of the nanowires complex sheet impedance at the resonance frequency. The real part is a measure of dissipation, while the imaginary part is dominated by kinetic inductance. We characterize the dependence of the sheet resistance and sheet inductance on both temperature and current and compare the results to recent theoretical predictions for disordered superconductors. These results can aid in the understanding of high frequency devices based on superconducting nanowires. They may also lead to the development of novel superconducting devices such as ultra-compact resonators and slow-wave structures.
We consider the application of a small in-plane magnetic field to electrons on a helium surface in a perpendicular magnetic field. Certain states that were bound to the helium surface then dissolve into the continuum turning into long-lived resonances. As a result microwave absorption lines acquire an asymmetric Fano lineshape that is tunable by varying the microwave polarisation or the in-plane magnetic field. Electrons trapped in a formerly bound state will tunnel off the surface of helium; we show that under suitable circumstances this ``radioactive decay can show damped oscillations rather than a simple exponential decay. The mechanism for oscillatory exponential decay is not specific to electrons on Helium and this effect may also be relevant elsewhere in physics.
We present a comprehensive study of internal quality factors in superconducting stub-geometry 3-dimensional cavities made of aluminum. We use wet etching, annealing and electrochemichal polishing to improve the as machined quality factor. We find that the dominant loss channel is split between two-level system loss and an unknown source with 60:40 proportion. A total of 17 cavities of different purity, resonance frequency and size were studied. Our treatment results in reproducible cavities, with ten of them showing internal quality factors above 80 million at a power corresponding to an average of a single photon in the cavity. The best cavity has an internal quality factor of 115 million at single photon level.
Pr 4f electronic states in Pr-based filled skutterudites PrT4X12(T=Fe and Ru; X=P and Sb) have been studied by high-resolution bulk-sensitive Pr 3d-4f resonance photoemission. A very strong spectral intensity is observed just below the Fermi level in the heavy-fermion system PrFe4P12. The increase of its intensity at lower temperatures is observed. We speculate that this is the Kondo resonance of Pr, the origin of which is attributed to the strong hybridization between the Pr 4f and the conduction electrons.