We discover in simulations of sliding coaxial nanotubes an unanticipated example of dynamical symmetry breaking taking place at the nanoscale. While both nanotubes are perfectly left-right symmetric and nonchiral, a nonzero angular momentum of phonon origin appears spontaneously at a series of critical sliding velocities, in correspondence with large peaks of the sliding friction. The nonlinear equations governing this phenomenon resemble the rotational instability of a forced string. However, several new elements, exquisitely "nano" appear here, with the crucial involvement of umklapp and of sliding nanofriction.
Dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in sliding nanotubes / Zhang, Xh; Santoro, Ge; Tartaglino, U; Tosatti, E. - In: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS. - ISSN 0031-9007. - 102:12(2009), pp. 125502.1-125502.4. [10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.125502]
Dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in sliding nanotubes
Santoro, GE;Tosatti, E
2009-01-01
Abstract
We discover in simulations of sliding coaxial nanotubes an unanticipated example of dynamical symmetry breaking taking place at the nanoscale. While both nanotubes are perfectly left-right symmetric and nonchiral, a nonzero angular momentum of phonon origin appears spontaneously at a series of critical sliding velocities, in correspondence with large peaks of the sliding friction. The nonlinear equations governing this phenomenon resemble the rotational instability of a forced string. However, several new elements, exquisitely "nano" appear here, with the crucial involvement of umklapp and of sliding nanofriction.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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