van der Waals friction between two semi-infinite solids, and between a small neutral particle and semi-infinite solid is studied using thermal quantum field theory in the Matsubara formulation. We show that the friction to linear order in the sliding velocity can be obtained from the equilibrium Green functions and that our treatment can be extended for bodies with complex geometry. The calculated friction agrees with the friction obtained using a dynamical modification of the Lifshitz theory, which is based on the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. We show that it should be possible to measure the van der Waals friction in noncontact friction experiment using state-of-the-art equipment.

• Received 17 May 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.74.205413