$1/f^{3/2}$ Power Spectrum at the Phonon Bottleneck

Abstract: The common observation of a `$1/f^\alpha$' power spectrum with $\alpha<2$ constitutes one of the enduring mysteries of condensed matter physics. Here it is shown that a $1/f^{\alpha}$ power spectrum, with $\alpha = 3/2$, can arise when an ensemble of two--level systems is coupled to a heat bath by means of a system of Bosonic quasiparticles. The model considered is the classic model of Faughnan and Strandberg of the phonon bottleneck, and the anomalous relaxation is associated with an approximate non-equilibrium steady state of the phonons maintained by slow spin relaxation. It is shown that a frequency-dependent susceptibility can be defined in the steady state and that the prediction $\alpha=3/2$, or the equivalent stretched exponential relaxation with exponent $\beta = 2-\alpha = 1/2$, is consistent with existing experimental data. These results give an insight into the origins of anomalous relaxation in condensed matter and the practical behaviour of two-level systems.