Theory of the contribution to sliding friction from electronic excitations in the microbalance experiment

The electronic contribution to the force of friction between a physioadsorbed film of atoms and the metallic substrate on which it is adsorbed in a microbalance experiment is calculated using time-dependent perturbation theory, and estimates of the experimentally observed slip time are made. The van der Waals interaction between an adsorbate and a substrate atom is also estimated. The connection between the adsorbate friction and the adsorbate contribution to the resistivity is also discussed on the basis of the perturbation theory calculations.