Interplay of driving and frequency noise in the spectra of vibrational systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates how frequency fluctuations influence the spectral properties of vibrational systems, especially under periodic driving, and demonstrates a method to characterize these fluctuations and decay rates in nanomechanical resonators.

Contribution

The study introduces a theoretical framework for understanding the spectral effects of frequency fluctuations in driven vibrational systems and validates it with experiments on a carbon nanotube resonator.

Findings

Frequency fluctuations cause specific spectral features in driven vibrational systems.

The theory enables characterization of frequency fluctuations and decay rates without ring-down measurements.

Results aid in understanding decoherence and resonance phenomena in mesoscopic oscillators.

Abstract

We study the spectral effect of the fluctuations of the vibration frequency. Such fluctuations play a major role in nanomechanical and other mesoscopic vibrational systems. We find that, for periodically driven systems, the interplay of the driving and frequency fluctuations results in specific spectral features. We present measurements on a carbon nanotube resonator and show that our theory allows not only the characterization of the frequency fluctuations but also the quantification of the decay rate without ring-down measurements. The results bear on identifying the decoherence of mesoscopic oscillators and on the general problem of resonance fluorescence and light scattering by oscillators.