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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22635 |
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| _version_ | 1866915762388598784 |
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| author | Guarcello, Claudio Dubkov, Alexander A. Valenti, Davide Spagnolo, Bernardo |
| author_facet | Guarcello, Claudio Dubkov, Alexander A. Valenti, Davide Spagnolo, Bernardo |
| contents | Many-body and complex systems, both classical and quantum, often exhibit slow, nonlinear relaxation toward stationary states due to the presence of metastable configurations and environmental fluctuations. Nonlinear relaxation in a wide variety of natural systems proceeds through metastable states, which arise in condensed-matter physics as well as in fields ranging from cosmology and biology to high-energy physics. Moreover, noise-induced phenomena play a central role in shaping the dynamics of such systems far from equilibrium. This review develops a unifying perspective centered on noise-assisted stabilization and the statistical properties of metastable dynamics. We first discuss escape processes driven by Lévy flights in smooth metastable potentials, emphasizing the emergence of nonmonotonic residence-time behavior. We then connect these concepts to stochastic resistive switching in memristive devices, where noise-induced effects can enhance stability and reproducibility. We further examine driven dissipative quantum bistability, showing how the interplay between external driving and system-environment coupling reshapes escape pathways and lifetimes. Finally, we outline how switching-time statistics in current-biased Josephson junctions can provide an experimentally accessible strategy for axion detection, based on an axion-induced resonant-activation signature. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_22635 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Noise-Assisted Metastability: From Lévy Flights to Memristors, Quantum Escape, and Josephson-based Axion Searches Guarcello, Claudio Dubkov, Alexander A. Valenti, Davide Spagnolo, Bernardo Statistical Mechanics Many-body and complex systems, both classical and quantum, often exhibit slow, nonlinear relaxation toward stationary states due to the presence of metastable configurations and environmental fluctuations. Nonlinear relaxation in a wide variety of natural systems proceeds through metastable states, which arise in condensed-matter physics as well as in fields ranging from cosmology and biology to high-energy physics. Moreover, noise-induced phenomena play a central role in shaping the dynamics of such systems far from equilibrium. This review develops a unifying perspective centered on noise-assisted stabilization and the statistical properties of metastable dynamics. We first discuss escape processes driven by Lévy flights in smooth metastable potentials, emphasizing the emergence of nonmonotonic residence-time behavior. We then connect these concepts to stochastic resistive switching in memristive devices, where noise-induced effects can enhance stability and reproducibility. We further examine driven dissipative quantum bistability, showing how the interplay between external driving and system-environment coupling reshapes escape pathways and lifetimes. Finally, we outline how switching-time statistics in current-biased Josephson junctions can provide an experimentally accessible strategy for axion detection, based on an axion-induced resonant-activation signature. |
| title | Noise-Assisted Metastability: From Lévy Flights to Memristors, Quantum Escape, and Josephson-based Axion Searches |
| topic | Statistical Mechanics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22635 |