Non-Contact Friction for Ion-Surface Interactions
Abstract
Non-contact friction forces are exerted on physical systems through dissipative processes, when the two systems are not in physical contact with each other, or, in quantum mechanical terms, when the overlap of their wave functions is negligible. Non-contact friction is mediated by the exchange of virtual quanta, with the additional requirement that the scattering process needs to have an inelastic component. For finite-temperature ion-surface interactions, the friction is essentially caused by Ohmic resistance due to the motion of the image charge moving in a dielectric material. A conceivable experiment is difficult because the friction force needs to be isolated from the interaction with the image charge, which significantly distorts the ion's flight path. We propose an experimental setup which is designed to minimize the influence of the image charge interaction though a compensation mechanism, and evaluate the energy loss due to non-contact friction for helium ions (He+ interacting with gold, vanadium, titanium and graphite surfaces. Interactions with the infinite series of mirror charges in the plates are summed in terms of the logarithmic derivatives of the Gamma function, and of the Hurwitz zeta function.
Recommended Citation
U. D. Jentschura and G. Lach, "Non-Contact Friction for Ion-Surface Interactions," European Physical Journal D, vol. 69, no. 4, Springer New York LLC, May 2015.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2015-50811-7
Department(s)
Physics
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1434-6060
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2015 Springer New York LLC, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 May 2015