Bistability and hysteresis in the sliding friction of a dimer

S. Gonçalves,1,2,* C. Fusco,3,1,† A. R. Bishop,4,‡ and V. M. Kenkre1,§ 1Consortium of the Americas for Interdisciplinary Science and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA 2Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Caixa Postal 15051, 90501-970 Porto Alegre RS, Brazil 3Solid State Theory, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands 4Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA Received 15 March 2005; revised manuscript received 25 July 2005; published 18 November 2005