Discontinuous Euler instability in nanoelectromechanical systems

TL;DR

This paper explores how electronic-vibronic interactions influence mechanical instabilities in nanoelectromechanical systems, revealing a transition from continuous to discontinuous buckling behavior akin to tricritical points.

Contribution

It provides an exact framework for understanding electronic effects on mechanical instabilities, specifically demonstrating a discontinuous transition in Euler buckling due to vibronic interactions.

Findings

Electronic-vibronic interactions qualitatively alter the instability

The buckling transition becomes discontinuous

Analogy with tricritical points in phase transitions

Abstract

We investigate nanoelectromechanical systems near mechanical instabilities. We show that quite generally, the interaction between the electronic and the vibronic degrees of freedom can be accounted for essentially exactly when the instability is continuous. We apply our general framework to the Euler buckling instability and find that the interaction between electronic and vibronic degrees of freedom qualitatively affects the mechanical instability, turning it into a discontinuous one in close analogy with tricritical points in the Landau theory of phase transitions.