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Frictional drag between quantum wells mediated by fluctuating electromagnetic field

A. I. Volokitin·B. N. J. Persson
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Abstract

We use the theory of the fluctuating electromagnetic field to calculate the frictional drag between nearby two-and three dimensional electron systems. The frictional drag results from coupling via a fluctuating electromagnetic field, and can be considered as the dissipative part of the van der Waals interaction. In comparison with other similar calculations for semiconductor two-dimensional system we include retardation effects. We consider the dependence of the frictional drag force on the temperature $T$, electron density and separation $d$. We find, that retardation effects become dominating factor for high electron densities, corresponding thing metallic film, and suggest a new experiment to test the theory. The relation between friction and heat transfer is also briefly commented on.

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A. I. Volokitin, B. N. J. Persson. 2006-05-22. Frictional drag between quantum wells mediated by fluctuating electromagnetic field. https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984%2F13%2F5%2F307

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