Scattering theory of adiabatic reaction forces due to out-of-equilibrium quantum environments

Abstract

The Landauer-Buettiker theory of mesoscopic conductors was recently extended to nanoelectromechanical systems. In this extension, the adiabatic reaction forces exerted by the electronic degrees of freedom on the mechanical modes were expressed in terms of the electronic S-matrix and its first non-adiabatic correction, the A-matrix. Here, we provide a more natural and efficient derivation of these results within the setting and solely with the methods of scattering theory. Our derivation is based on a generic model of a slow classical degree of freedom coupled to a quantum-mechanical scattering system, extending previous work on adiabatic reaction forces for closed quantum systems.