  Spatially separated bodies in relative motion through vacuum experience a
tiny friction force known as quantum friction. This force has so far eluded
experimental detection due to its small magnitude and short range. Quantitative
details revealing traces of the quantum friction in the degradation of the
quantum coherence of a particle are presented. Environmentally induced
decoherence for a particle sliding over a dielectric sheet can be decomposed
into contributions of different signatures: one solely induced by the
electromagnetic vacuum in presence of the dielectric and another induced by
motion. As the geometric phase has been proved to be a fruitful venue of
investigation to infer features of the quantum systems, herein we propose to
use the accumulated geometric phase acquired by a particle as a quantum
friction sensor. Furthermore, an innovative experiment designed to track traces
of quantum friction by measuring the velocity dependence of corrections to the
geometric phase and coherence is proposed. The experimentally viable scheme
presented can spark renewed optimism for the detection of non-contact friction,
with the hope that this non-equilibrium phenomenon can be readily measured
soon.
