Inhomogeneous losses and complexness of wave functions in chaotic cavities

Abstract

In a two-dimensional microwave chaotic cavity ohmic losses located at the contour of the cavity result in different broadenings of different modes. We provide an analytic description and establish the link between such an inhomogeneous damping and the complex (non-real) character of biorthogonal wave functions. This substantiates the corresponding recent experimental findings of Barthelemy et al. [Europhys. Lett. 70, 162 (2005)].