Resonant photon tunneling enhancement of the van der Waals friction
Abstract
We study the van der Waals friction between two flat metal surfaces in relative motion. For good conductors we find that normal relative motion gives a much larger friction than for parallel relative motion. The friction may increase by many order of magnitude when the surfaces are covered by adsorbates, or can support low-frequency surface plasmons. In this case the friction is determined by resonant photon tunneling between adsorbate vibrational modes, or surface plasmon modes.
0
Turn this paper into a full lesson
ArcXiv compiles a staged curriculum from this paper: 8-12 lessons across beginner → advanced, synthesised section guides, visuals, flashcards, a quiz, exercises, and on-demand deep dives per section. Grounded in the abstract, never invented.