  Correlation functions $C(t) \sim <\phi(t)\phi(0)>$ in ohmically damped
systems such as coupled harmonic oscillators or optical resonators can be
expressed as a single sum over modes $j$ (which are not power-orthogonal), with
each term multiplied by the Petermann factor (PF) $C_j$, leading to "excess
noise" when $|C_j| > 1$. It is shown that $|C_j| > 1$ is common rather than
exceptional, that $|C_j|$ can be large even for weak damping, and that the PF
appears in other processes as well: for example, a time-independent
perturbation $\sim\ep$ leads to a frequency shift $\sim \ep C_j$. The
coalescence of $J$ ($>1$) eigenvectors gives rise to a critical point, which
exhibits "giant excess noise" ($C_j \to \infty$). At critical points, the
divergent parts of $J$ contributions to $C(t)$ cancel, while time-independent
perturbations lead to non-analytic shifts $\sim \ep^{1/J}$.
