{"paper":{"title":"Microscopic Quantum Friction","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","headline":"Quantum friction between two ground-state atoms arises from their relative motion coupled to dispersive response, appearing as odd-order terms in a velocity power series.","cross_cats":[],"primary_cat":"quant-ph","authors_text":"C. Farina, F. Impens, P. A. Maia Neto, Pedro H. Pereira, R. de Melo e Souza","submitted_at":"2026-01-19T18:00:07Z","abstract_excerpt":"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 contribu"},"claims":{"count":4,"items":[{"kind":"strongest_claim","text":"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.","source":"verdict.strongest_claim","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C1","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"weakest_assumption","text":"The requirement that odd-order terms survive only in the presence of an internal dissipation mechanism, together with the assumption that the derived force properties hold for arbitrary scattering trajectories without further model details.","source":"verdict.weakest_assumption","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C2","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"one_line_summary","text":"Microscopic quantum friction emerges as odd-order velocity terms from atom-atom dispersive interactions, with first-order dominance at room temperature and universal features like zero-temperature cubic velocity dependence already present at atomic scale.","source":"verdict.one_line_summary","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C3","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"headline","text":"Quantum friction between two ground-state atoms arises from their relative motion coupled to dispersive response, appearing as odd-order terms in a velocity power series.","source":"verdict.pith_extraction.headline","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C4","attestation":"unclaimed"}],"snapshot_sha256":"e81443bcc904b1d14a94ba9b9faf9ff8048b4e5a06abbe942d3a3ed69737cb3b"},"source":{"id":"2601.13265","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":"d1e2ee89-c912-4966-9ee0-d840a26a4915","model_set":{"reader":"grok-4.3"},"created_at":"2026-05-16T13:13:05.681725Z","strongest_claim":"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.","one_line_summary":"Microscopic quantum friction emerges as odd-order velocity terms from atom-atom dispersive interactions, with first-order dominance at room temperature and universal features like zero-temperature cubic velocity dependence already present at atomic scale.","pipeline_version":"pith-pipeline@v0.9.0","weakest_assumption":"The requirement that odd-order terms survive only in the presence of an internal dissipation mechanism, together with the assumption that the derived force properties hold for arbitrary scattering trajectories without further model details.","pith_extraction_headline":"Quantum friction between two ground-state atoms arises from their relative motion coupled to dispersive response, appearing as odd-order terms in a velocity power series."},"references":{"count":38,"sample":[{"doi":"","year":2010,"title":"A. Manjavacas and F. J. García de Abajo, Vacuum friction in rotating particles, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 113601 (2010)","work_id":"e2b0017d-023b-43eb-90e9-d192da4bfeb6","ref_index":1,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2021,"title":"Z. Xu, Z. Jacob, and T. Li, Enhancement of rotational vacuum friction by surface photon tunneling, Nanophotonics 10, 537 (2021)","work_id":"6ff79dda-3b1e-4e92-b142-b04479acce70","ref_index":2,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2019,"title":"S. Sanders, W. J. M. Kort-Kamp, D. A. R. Dalvit, and A. Manjavacas, Nanoscale transfer of angular momentum mediated by the casimir torque, Commun.Phys. 2, 71 (2019)","work_id":"78a08dd0-de97-44af-98f1-999513afe75c","ref_index":3,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2021,"title":"G. Matos, R. de Melo e Souza, P. M. Neto, and F. Impens, Quantum vacuum sagnac effect, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 270401 (2021)","work_id":"f08bfc01-ac9e-4531-b1bd-3f858fe92ebb","ref_index":4,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2025,"title":"H. S. G. Amaral, P. P. Abrantes, F. Impens, P. A. M. Neto, and R. de Melo e Souza, Tailoring the van der waals interaction with rotation, Phys.Rev.Lett. 135, 243601 (2025)","work_id":"749c8633-7cc1-4550-a35f-51913b914349","ref_index":5,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false}],"resolved_work":38,"snapshot_sha256":"4ca2371ad904c8c8ed09ccbbcf347b11498379b56f0265e201cb577323e31882","internal_anchors":0},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}