title: Dry friction due to adsorbed molecules.
abstract: Using an adiabatic approximation method, which searches for Tomlinson-model-like instabilities for a simple but still realistic model for two crystalline surfaces, with mobile molecules present at the interface, sliding relative to each other, we are able to account for the virtually universal occurrence of "dry friction." The model makes important predictions for the dependence of friction on the strength of the interaction of each surface with the mobile molecules.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department and Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Complex Systems, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Sokoloff