Nicola Manini

Colloquium : Modeling friction: from nanoscale to mesoscale

The physics of sliding friction is gaining impulse from nanoscale and mesoscale experiments, simulations, and theoretical modeling. This Colloquium reviews some recent developments in modeling and in atomistic simulation of friction, covering open-ended directions, unconventional nanofrictional systems, and unsolved problems.

Electron-vibron interactions in charged fullerenes. I. Berry phases.

A simple model for electron-vibron interactions on charged buckminsterfullerene C60 n−, n = 1, . . . 5, is solved both at weak and strong couplings. We consider a single Hg vibrational multiplet interacting with t1u electrons. At strong coupling the semiclassical dynamical Jahn-Teller theory is valid. The Jahn-Teller distortions are unimodal for n=1,2,4,5 electrons, and bimodal for 3 electrons. The distortions are quantized as rigid body pseudo–rotators which are subject to geometrical Berry phases. These impose ground state degeneracies and dramatically change zero point energies. Exact diagonalization shows that the semiclassical level degeneracies and ordering survive well into Email: assa@phassa.technion.ac.il Email: manini@tsmi19.sissa.it Email: tosatti@tsmi19.sissa.it

Electron-vibron interactions in charged fullerenes. II. Pair energies and spectra.

The ground-state energy shifts and excitation spectra of charged fullerenes

Bulk and collective properties of a dilute Fermi gas in the BCS-BEC crossover

{\mathrm{C}}_{60}^{\mathit{n}\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}

Atomistic simulations of the sliding friction of graphene flakes

, n=1,...,5 are calculated. The electron-vibron Hamiltonian of part I is extended to include all

Off-diagonal geometric phases.

{\mathit{A}}_{\mathit{g}}

Electron-vibration coupling constants in positively charged fullerene

and

Anomalous attachment of low-energy electrons to C60

{\mathit{H}}_{\mathit{g}}

Synthesis, Characterization, and Modeling of Naphthyl-Terminated sp Carbon Chains: Dinaphthylpolyynes

modes with experimentally determined frequencies and theoretically estimated coupling constants. Complex splitting patterns of

Static and dynamic friction in sliding colloidal monolayers

{\mathit{H}}_{\mathit{g}}