Related papers: Kinks and Nanofriction: Structural Phases in Few-A…
We propose a quantum simulation of a supersymmetric lattice model using atoms trapped in a 1D configuration and interacting through a Rydberg dressed potential. The elementary excitations in the model are kinks or (in a sector with one…
We investigate kink-antikink collisions in a model characterized by two scalar fields in the presence of geometric constrictions. The model includes an auxiliary function that modifies the kinematics associated with one of the two fields.…
We report microscale friction experiments for diamond/metal and diamond/silica contacts under gigapascal contact pressures. Using a new nanoprobe technique which has sufficient dynamic range of force and stiffness, we demonstrate the…
We introduce a gravitational lattice theory defined in an AdS$_3$ black hole background that provides a holographic dual description of the linear-to-zigzag structural phase transition, characterized by the spontaneous breaking of parity…
In the framework of a Frenkel-Kontorova-like model, we address the robustness of the superlubricity phenomenon in an edge-driven system at large scales, highlighting the dynamical mechanisms leading to its failure due to the slider…
An atomic gas subject to a commensurate periodic potential generated by an optical lattice undergoes a superfluid--Mott insulator transition. Confining a strongly interacting gas to one dimension generates an instability where an arbitrary…
Transmission electron microscopy experiments have recently observed gold metal nanocylinders to thin down in a discrete manner: A kink--a step of order of one atomic layer--nucleates at one end and then moves along the wire, leaving a…
We review the present state of understanding of solid friction at low velocities and for systems with negligibly small wear effects. We first analyze in detail the behavior of friction at interfaces between wacroscopic hard rough solids,…
We examine the problem of the dynamics of interfaces in a one-dimensional space-time discrete dynamical system. Two different regimes are studied : the non-propagating and the propagating one. In the first case, after proving the existence…
Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study contact between a rigid, nonadhesive, spherical tip with radius of order 30nm and a flat elastic substrate covered with a fluid monolayer of adsorbed chain molecules. Previous studies of bare…
Tribological phenomena are governed by combined effects of material properties, topology and surface-chemistry. We study the interplay of multiscale surface structures with molecular-scale interactions towards interpreting static frictional…
Using atomic force microscopy experiments and molecular dynamics simulations of gold nanoislands on graphite, we investigate why ultra-small friction commonly associated with structural lubricity can be observed even under ambient…
Atomistic simulations are powerful tools for investigating tribological phenomena at a fundamental level; however, simulating a tribological system remains challenging due to the multiscale nature of frictional processes. Recently, we…
In this work we provide an overview of jamming transitions in two dimensional systems focusing on the limit of frictionless particle interactions in the absence of thermal fluctuations. We first discuss jamming in systems with short range…
Friction is a ubiquitous phenomenon that greatly affects our everyday lives and is responsible for large amounts of energy loss in industrialised societies. Layered materials such as graphene have interesting frictional properties and are…
A trapped ion transported along a periodic potential is studied as a paradigmatic nanocontact frictional interface. The combination of the periodic corrugation potential and a harmonic trapping potential creates a one-dimensional energy…
We have devised an original laboratory experiment where we investigate the frictional behaviour of a single crystal salt slider over a large number of deformation cycles. Because of its physical properties, salt, a surrogate for natural…
The kinetic friction and wear at high sliding speeds is investigated using the head-disk interface of hard disk drives, wherein, the head and the disk are less than 10 nm apart and move at sliding speeds of 5-10 m/s relative to each other.…
Frictional properties of interfaces with dynamic chemical bonds have been the subject of intensive experimental investigation and modeling, as it provides important insights into the molecular origin of the empirical rate and state laws,…
Critical points and phase transitions are characterized by diverging susceptibilities, reflecting the tendency of the system toward spontaneous symmetry breaking. Equilibrium statistical mechanics bounds these instabilities to occur at zero…