  We propose that several mechanisms contribute to friction in a polymer melt
adsorbed at a structured surface. The first one is the well known
disentanglement of bulk polymer chains from the surface layer. However, if the
surface is ideal at the atomic scale, the adsorbed parts of polymer chains can
move along the equipotential lines of the surface potential. This gives rise to
a strong slippage of the melt. For high shear rates chains partially desorb.
However, the friction force on adsorbed chains increases, resulting in
quasi-stick boundary conditions. We propose that the adsorbed layers can be
efficiently used to adjust the friction force between the polymer melt and the
surface.
