Physical Chemistry Seminar - Prof. Sauro Succi

The Physical Chemistry seminar series is restarting! We are thrilled to have Prof. Sauro Succi - one of the inventors of the lattice Boltzmann method for fluid dynamics - as the inaugural speaker of the series. Tea and pastries will be served after the seminar. 

Title: The Lattice Wigner approach to computational quantum nanofluidics

Abstract: Over the last few decades the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method has gained a prominent role in the simulation of a broad spectrum of complex transport phenomena, from fluid turbulence, to micro-nanofluidics, soft matter and biology. Even though quantum formulations of LB have been known for many years, their application to quantum transport phenomena is still comparatively scarce. In this lecture, after reviewing the main ideas behind the LB theory, we shall describe a recent formulation of the lattice-Wigner equation (LWE) specifically aimed at the simulation of transport phenomena at the interface between nanofluidics and quantum mechanics. More specifically, we shall address the intriguing quantum friction phenomena resulting from the coupling of charged fluctuations in polar fluids with electron and phonon excitations in graphene-based solid walls. Our preliminary results show encouraging indications that the LWE approach may pave the way to the full scale computational design of a novel generation of quantum-engineered low-friction nanflouidic devices. Future prospects and challenges along these lines will be discussed and commented on.