Angular dependence of atomic friction with deformable substrate

The atomic stick-slip behavior of Prandtl-Tomlinson model sliding on 2D deformable substrate is studied. The influence of the shape of the interaction potential is investigated in details in the well-known phenomenon of the two-dimensional stick-slip friction. Numerical simulations are built to observe the influence of the geometry and orientation. The results show that the friction force has a maximum at r=− 0.6, this value of the shape parameter indicates a transition from a clear stick-slip at r> − 0.6 to a distorted stick-slip at r> − 0.6. We find a remarkable transition of the frictional force image pattern depending on the shape of the substrate. Copyright EDP Sciences, SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015