Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling and Thermal Activation from Metastable States in a dc SQUID
- 8 August 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 61 (6) , 742-745
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.61.742
Abstract
We have studied the transition rate from metastable wells in the two-dimensional potential of a dc SQUID as a function of applied flux and temperature. We observe a crossover from thermally activated escape to macroscopic quantum tunneling at a flux-dependent temperature. The thermal rates are significantly suppressed, suggesting that the potential barrier for activation is effectively enhanced by the interaction of the macroscopic degrees of freedom in the device.Keywords
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