The friction of surfaces in relative motion and separated by a few nanometres is thought to be dominated by electronic effects. It is now found that the friction sensed by an AFM tip oscillating above a NbSe2 surface takes the form of giant dissipation peaks, and that the peaks are related to a hysteresis cycle where the oscillating tip locally pumps 2π slips in the phase of a charge-density wave.
- Markus Langer
- Marcin Kisiel
- Ernst Meyer
