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Properties of twist grain boundaries (TGB), long known structurally but not tribologically, are simulated under sliding and load, with Au(111) our test case. The load-free TGB moir\'e is smooth and superlubric at incommensurate twists.…

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics · Physics 2025-07-18 Jin Wang , Erio Tosatti

The motion of Brownian particles in nonlinear baths, such as, e.g., viscoelastic fluids, is of great interest. We theoretically study a simple model for such bath, where two particles are coupled via a sinusoidal potential. This model,…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2021-10-13 Rohit Jain , Félix Ginot , Matthias Krüger

A synergetic model describing the state of an ultrathin lubricant layer squeezed between two atomically smooth solid surfaces operating in the boundary friction mode has been developed further. To explain the presence of different operation…

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics · Physics 2014-01-20 Iakov A. Lyashenko , Nataliia N. Manko

We investigate numerically the yielding transition of a two dimensional model amorphous solid under external shear. We use a scalar model in terms of values of the total local strain, that we derive from the full (tensorial) description of…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2018-07-18 I. Fernández Aguirre , E. A. Jagla

The sliding motion of objects is typically governed by their friction with the underlying surface. Compared to translational friction, however, rotational friction has received much less attention. Here, we experimentally and theoretically…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2022-10-25 Xin Cao , Andrea Silva , Emanuele Panizon , Andrea Vanossi , Nicola Manini , Erio Tosatti , Clemens Bechinger

Colloidal probe Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) allows to explore sliding friction phenomena in graphite contacts of nominal lateral size up to hundreds of nanometers. It is known that contact formation involves tribo-induced material…

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics · Physics 2024-01-12 Renato Buzio , Andrea Gerbi , Cristina Bernini , Luca Repetto , Andrea Vanossi

With the help of a simple two-dimensional model we simulate the tribological properties of a thin lubricant film consisting of linear (chain) molecules in the ordinary soft-lubricant regime. We find that friction generally increases with…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2012-10-26 Oleg M. Braun , Nicola Manini , Erio Tosatti

Surface roughness is a key factor when it comes to friction and wear, as well as to other physical properties. These phenomena are controlled by mechanisms acting at small scales, in which the topography of apparently-flat surfaces is…

Materials Science · Physics 2024-11-05 Joaquin Garcia-Suarez , Tobias Brink , Jean-François Molinari

Structural superlubricity is an intriguing physical phenomenon, whereby sliding at a structurally incommensurate, atomically flat interface yields vanishingly small friction forces. Despite its recent experimental validation, critical…

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics · Physics 2024-07-10 Wai H. Oo , Paul D. Ashby , Mehmet Z. Baykara

Friction in atomistic systems is usually described by the classical Prandtl-Tomlinson model suitable for capturing the dragging force of a nanoparticle in a periodic potential. Here we consider the quantum mechanical version of this model…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-04-22 Dai-Nam Le , Pablo Rodriguez-Lopez , Lilia M. Woods

Dynamic models, particularly rate-dependent models, have proven effective in capturing the key phenomenological features of frictional processes, whilst also possessing important mathematical properties that facilitate the design of control…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2026-02-12 Luigi Romano , Ole Morten Aamo , Jan Åslund , Erik Frisk

Rubber friction is of major practical importance in applications such as tires, rubber seals, and footwear. This review article focuses on the theory and experimental studies of rubber friction on substrates with random roughness. We…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2025-09-12 B. N. J. Persson , R. Xu

We consider the Prandtl-Tomlinson model in the case of a constant driving force and in the presence of thermal fluctuations. We show that the system dynamics is well reproduced by a simplified description obtained through a Markov process,…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2023-11-07 Dario Lucente , Alberto Petri , Angelo Vulpiani

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…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2024-07-08 Wai H. Oo , Hongyu Gao , Martin H. Müser , Mehmet Z. Baykara

Refractory body-centered cubic (BCC) metals and alloys are of extraordinary importance in modern technological and structural applications. However, their wider adoption in science and technology is severely restricted by low-temperature…

We introduce a model for zwitterionic monolayers and investigate its tribological response to changes in applied load, sliding velocity, and temperature by means of molecular-dynamics simulations. The proposed model exhibits different…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2022-02-14 Melisa M. Gianetti , Roberto Guerra , Andrea Vanossi , Michael Urbakh , Nicola Manini

We analyze the friction force exerted on a small probe particle sliding over an atomic-scale surface by means of a Green-Kubo relation and classical Molecular Dynamics simulations. We find that, on the atomic scale, the friction tensor can…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2020-06-17 Miru Lee , Richard L. C. Vink , Matthias Krüger

The interplay between Coulomb friction and random excitations is studied experimentally by means of a rotating probe in contact with a stationary granular gas. The granular material is independently fluidized by a vertical shaker, acting as…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2013-04-26 A. Gnoli , A. Puglisi , H. Touchette

Friction is ubiquitous in daily life, from nanoscale machines to large engineering components. By probing the intricate interplay between system parameters and frictional behavior, scientists seek to unveil the underlying mechanisms that…

Materials Science · Physics 2025-11-26 Yulong Li , Peter Gumbsch , Christian Greiner

While friction stems from the fundamental interactions between atoms at a contact interface, its best descriptions at the macroscopic scale remain phenomenological. The so called "rate-and-state" models, which specify the friction response…