Probing High-Frequency Noise With Macroscopic Resonant Tunneling

We have developed a method for extracting the high-frequency noise spectral density of an rf-SQUID flux qubit from macroscopic resonant tunneling (MRT) rate measurements. The extracted noise spectral density is consistent with that of an ohmic environment up to frequencies similar to 4 GHz. We have also derived an expression for the MRT line shape expected for a noise spectral density consisting of such a broadband ohmic component and an additional strongly peaked low-frequency component. This hybrid model provides an excellent fit to experimental data across a range of tunneling amplitudes and temperatures.