Spectral fluctuations of billiards with mixed dynamics: From time series to superstatistics

A statistical analysis of the eigenfrequencies of two sets of superconducting microwave billiards, one with mushroomlike shape and the other from the family of the Limacon billiards, is presented. These billiards have mixed regular-chaotic dynamics but different structures in their classical phase spaces. The spectrum of each billiard is represented as a time series where the level order plays the role of time. Two most important findings follow from the time series analysis. First, the spectra can be characterized by two distinct relaxation lengths. This is a prerequisite for the validity of the superstatistical approach, which is based on the folding of two distribution functions. Second, the shape of the resulting probability density function of the so-called superstatistical parameter is reasonably approximated by an inverse chi(2) distribution. This distribution is used to compute nearest-neighbor spacing distributions and compare them with those of the resonance frequencies of billiards with mixed dynamics within the framework of superstatistics. The obtained spacing distribution is found to present a good description of the experimental ones and is of the same or even better quality as a number of other spacing distributions, including the one from Berry and Robnik. However, in contrast to other approaches toward a theoretical description of spectral properties of systems with mixed dynamics, superstatistics also provides a description of properties of the eigenfunctions in terms of a superstatistical generalization of the Porter-Thomas distribution. Indeed, the inverse chi(2) parameter distribution is found suitable for the analysis of experimental resonance strengths in the Limacon billiards within the framework of superstatistics.