Microscopic Quantum Friction
- URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2601.13265v1
- Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2026 18:00:07 GMT
- Title: Microscopic Quantum Friction
- Authors: Pedro H. Pereira, F. Impens, C. Farina, P. A. Maia Neto, R. de Melo e Souza,
- Abstract summary: We report on a microscopic theory of quantum friction.<n>Our approach investigates the interplay between the dispersive response and the relative center-of-mass motion of two ground-state atoms.<n>At room temperature, the dominant microscopic quantum friction is of first order in the velocity.
- Score: 0.0
- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Abstract: We report on a microscopic theory of quantum friction. Our approach investigates the interplay between the dispersive response and the relative center-of-mass motion of two ground-state atoms. This coupling yields a quantum force, which can be expressed as a power series in the velocity. The significance of each contribution depends on its order parity: while even-order terms are reversible, odd-order terms are irreversible and only survive in the presence of an internal dissipation mechanism. In addition, we obtain general, model-independent properties for the work performed by these contributions for arbitrary scattering trajectories. These results enable an unambiguous identification of odd-parity terms with microscopic quantum friction. At room temperature, the dominant microscopic quantum friction is of first order in the velocity and presents a strong quantum character. Our microscopic theory reveals that several properties of quantum friction obtained in specific settings -- such as the cubic dependence on velocity at zero temperature -- are indeed universal features already present at the atomic scale.
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