Quantum "contact" friction: the contribution of kinetic friction coefficient from thermal fluctuations

TL;DR

This paper presents a quantum thermal model of kinetic friction for a classical particle on a fluctuating surface, revealing temperature-dependent behavior of the friction coefficient influenced by quantum surface fluctuations.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum approach to model surface fluctuations affecting kinetic friction, incorporating quantization and acoustic dispersion to explain temperature dependence.

Findings

Friction coefficient depends on temperature, approaching an asymptotic value at high temperatures.

Quantum surface fluctuations influence the kinetic friction in classical particles.

The model explains low-temperature slippiness and high-temperature asymptotic behavior.

Abstract

A thermal model of kinetic friction is assigned to a classical loaded particle moving on a fluctuating smooth surface. A sinusoidal wave resembles surface fluctuations with a relaxation time. The Hamiltonian is approximated to the mean energy of the wave describing a system of Harmonic oscillators. The quantization of amplitudes yields in terms of annihilation and creation operators multiplied by a quantum phase. Further, we consider acoustic dispersion relation and evaluate the friction coefficient from the force autocorrelation function. While the sliding particle remains classical describing a nano-particle or a tip with negligible quantum effects like tunneling or delocalization in the wave function, the quantized model of the surface fluctuations results in the temperature dependence of the kinetic friction coefficient. It follows an asymptotic value for higher temperatures and supperslipperiness at low temperatures.