Time-resolved measurements of thermodynamic fluctuations of the particle number in a nondegenerate Fermi gas

We report on time-resolved measurements of thermodynamic fluctuations in the number of particles in a nondegenerate Fermi gas. The gas is comprised of thermal quasiparticles, confined in a superconducting Al box by large-gap Ta leads. The average number of quasiparticles is about 10(5). This number...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2001-08, Vol.87 (6), p.067004-067004, Article 067004
Main Authors: Wilson, C M, Frunzio, L, Prober, D E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
EXCITATION
FERMI GAS
FLUCTUATIONS
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE
RECOMBINATION
THERMODYNAMICS
TUNNELING
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Summary:We report on time-resolved measurements of thermodynamic fluctuations in the number of particles in a nondegenerate Fermi gas. The gas is comprised of thermal quasiparticles, confined in a superconducting Al box by large-gap Ta leads. The average number of quasiparticles is about 10(5). This number fluctuates due to quasiparticle generation and recombination. The number is measured from the tunneling current through a barrier that bisects the box. The recombination time is independently measured by single-photon excitation and agrees with the frequency dependence of the fluctuations.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.067004