Dissipation due to two-level systems in nano-mechanical devices

C. Seoanez, F. Guinea, A. H. Castro Neto

Published 2006-11-06, updated 2007-05-28Version 3

We analyze the dissipation of the frequency vibrations of nano-mechanical devices. We show that the coupling between flexural modes and two-level systems leads to sub-ohmic dissipation. The inverse quality factor of the low energy vibrations depends on temperature as $Q^{-1} (T) \approx Q_0 + C T^{1/3}$, providing a quantitative description of the experimental data.