Fermi-Pasta-Ulam physics with nanomechanical graphene resonators: intrinsic relaxation and thermalization from flexural mode coupling.
Thermalization in nonlinear systems is a central concept in statistical mechanics and has been extensively studied theoretically since the seminal work of Fermi, Pasta, and Ulam. Using molecular dynamics and continuum modeling of a ring-down setup, we show that thermalization due to nonlinear mode coupling intrinsically limits the quality factor of nanomechanical graphene drums and turns them into potential test beds for Fermi-Pasta-Ulam physics. We find the thermalization rate Γ to be independent of radius and scaling as Γ∼T*/εpre2, where T* and εpre are effective resonator temperature and prestrain.
Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
Daniel
D
Midtvedt
Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
Alexander
A
Croy
Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
Andreas
A
Isacsson
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachsetts 02215, USA.
Zenan
Z
Qi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachsetts 02215, USA.
Harold S
HS
Park