  This thesis studies three kinds of mesoscopic systems and how one of their
collective degrees of freedom is affected by a dissipative environment:
a)Nanoelectromechanical systems based on semiconductor materials, and how
surface friction processes limit the quality factor of their vibrational
eigenmodes at low temperatures, causing as well a frequency shift; b)Graphene -
based nanoresonators, and several damping mechanisms limiting the quality
factor of its fundamental bending (flexural) eigenmode, and c)The dissipative
dynamics of the surface plasmon created in a metallic nanocluster by a laser
pulse, discussing the validity and limitations of a very common theoretical
model used for its description.
