2006/07/31 by Andrea Vanossi, Nicola Manini, Giorgio Divitini +2 · 4 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Sports Dynamics and Biomechanics #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.97.056101
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 056101 (2006) · 5 pags 4 figs
openalex publication_date 2006/07/31 · arxiv created 2006/09/04 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We report peculiar velocity quantization phenomena in the classical motion of an idealized 1D solid lubricant, consisting of a harmonic chain interposed between two periodic sliders. The ratio upsilon(c.m.)/upsilon(ext) of the chain center-of-mass velocity to the externally imposed relative velocity of the sliders stays pinned to exact "plateau" values for wide ranges of parameters, such as slider corrugation amplitudes, external velocity, chain stiffness, and dissipation, and is strictly determined by the commensurability ratios alone. The phenomenon is explained by one slider rigidly dragging the kinks that the chain forms with the other slider. Possible consequences of these results for some real systems are discussed.