Rotational Quantum Friction
Materials Science
2012-09-26 v3 Quantum Physics
Abstract
We investigate the frictional forces due to quantum fluctuations acting on a small sphere rotating near a surface. At zero temperature, we find the frictional force near a surface to be several orders of magnitude larger than that for the sphere rotating in vacuum. For metallic materials with typical conductivity, quantum friction is maximized by matching the frequency of rotation with the conductivity. Materials with poor conductivity are favored to obtain large quantum frictions. For semiconductor materials that are able to support surface plasmon polaritons, quantum friction can be further enhanced by several orders of magnitude due to the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1208.4232,
title = {Rotational Quantum Friction},
author = {Rongkuo Zhao and Alejandro Manjavacas and F. Javier García de Abajo and J. B. Pendry},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1208.4232},
year = {2012}
}
Comments
Published on PRL as Editors' Suggestion