From non-equilibrium Green's functions to Lattice Wigner: A toy model for quantum nanofluidics simulations

Recent experiments of fluid transport in nano-channels have shown evidence of a coupling between charge-fluctuations in polar fluids and electronic excitations in graphene solids, which may lead to a significant reduction of friction a phenomenon dubbed “negative quantum friction.” In this paper, we present a semi-classical mesoscale Boltzmann–Wigner lattice kinetic model of quantum-nanoscale transport and perform a numerical study of the effects of the quantum interactions on the evolution of a one-dimensional nano-fluid subject to a periodic external potential. It is shown that the effects of quantum fluctuations become visible once the quantum length scale (Fermi wavelength) of the quasiparticles becomes comparable to the lengthscale of the external potential. Under such conditions, quantum fluctuations are mostly felt on the odd kinetic moments, while the even ones remain nearly unaffected because they are “protected” by thermal fluctuations. It is hoped that the present Boltzmann–Wigner lattice model and extensions thereof may offer a useful tool for the computer simulation of quantum-nanofluidic transport phenomena at scales of engineering relevance.