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We investigate a model system which consists of a chain of particles that interact with two periodic potentials representing two confining plates, one of which is externally driven. The model leads to a spectrum of rich behaviors in the motion of the top driven plate: stick-slip, intermittent kinetic regime, characterized by force fluctuations, and two types of sliding above a critical driving velocity vc. Similar behaviors are typical of a broad range of systems including thin sheared liquids. The relaxation of the "slip" part between two "stick" events in the stick-slip time series may display more than one characteristic time scale. The different relaxation times are shown to be related to a velocity-dependent effective frictional force felt by the driven plate.
©1998 Elsevier Science