Dry Friction in the Frenkel-Kontorova-Tomlinson Model: Dynamical Properties

Wearless friction is investigated in a simple mechanical model called Frenkel-Kontorova-Tomlinson model. We have introduced this model in [Phys. Rev. B, Vol. 53, 7539 (1996)] where the static friction has already been considered. Here the model is treated for constant sliding speed. The kinetic friction is calculated numerically as well as analytically. As a function of the sliding velocity it shows many structures which can be understood by varies kinds of phonon resonances (normal, superharmonic and parametric) caused by the so-called "washboard wave". For increasing interaction strength the regular motion becomes chaotic (fluid-sliding state). The fluid sliding state is mainly determined by the density of decay channels of m washboard waves into n phonons. We also find strong bistabilities and coherent motions with superimposed dark envelope solitons which interact nondestructively.