Experimental investigation of resonant activation
We experimentally investigate the escape from a metastable state over a fluctuating barrier of a physical system. The system is switching between two states under electronic control of a dichotomous noise. We measure the escape time and its probability density function as a function of the correlation rate of the dichotomous noise in a frequency interval spanning more than four frequency decades. We observe resonant activation, namely a minimum of the average escape time as a function of the correlation rate. We detect two regimes in the study of the shape of the escape time probability distribution: (i) a regime of exponential and (ii) a regime of nonexponential probability distribution.
Mantegna
RN
Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia, Unita di Palermo, and Dipartimento di Energetica ed Applicazioni di Fisica, Universita di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, I-90128, Palermo, Italy.
Spagnolo
B