Number fluctuations of sparse quasiparticles in a superconductor

TL;DR

This paper measures quasiparticle number fluctuations in a superconducting aluminum resonator, revealing temperature-dependent behavior and saturation at low temperatures, which impacts qubit coherence.

Contribution

It provides the first direct measurement of quasiparticle fluctuations and links their saturation to quasiparticle lifetime, advancing understanding of superconducting qubit decoherence.

Findings

Quasiparticle density decreases exponentially with temperature.

Density saturates below 160 mK at 25-55 per cubic micron.

Saturation correlates with quasiparticle lifetime measurements.

Abstract

We have directly measured quasiparticle number fluctuations in a thin film superconducting Al resonator in thermal equilibrium. The spectrum of these fluctuations provides a measure of both the density and the lifetime of the quasiparticles. We observe that the quasiparticle density decreases exponentially with decreasing temperature, as theoretically predicted, but saturates below 160 mK to 25-55 per cubic micron. We show that this saturation is consistent with the measured saturation in the quasiparticle lifetime, which also explains similar observations in qubit decoherence times.