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Nonequilibrium Casimir-Polder Force: Magnus-like Effect

Quantum Physics 2026-06-30 v1

Abstract

The motion of a particle in vacuum near macroscopic bodies gives rise to a Magnus-like contribution to the nonequilibrium Casimir-Polder force. This effect originates from the interplay between particle dynamics and material-modified electromagnetic quantum fluctuations, inducing in the particle a direction-dependent angular momentum coupled to the electromagnetic field spin. The resulting drift force is proportional to the cross product of the particle's angular and translational velocities, revealing a rotational transport component in the nonequilibrium Casimir-Polder interaction. Our results establish a striking connection between quantum fluctuations-induced forces and the classical Magnus effect in fluid dynamics.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2606.31610,
  title  = {Nonequilibrium Casimir-Polder Force: Magnus-like Effect},
  author = {Maria Vittoria Gurrieri and Kurt Busch and Francesco Intravaia},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2606.31610},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

7 + 3 pages, 3 + 1 figures