Resolution of an apparent inconsistency in the electromagnetic Casimir effect
Abstract
The vacuum expectation value of the electromagnetic energy-momentum tensor between two parallel plates in spacetime dimensions D > 4 is calculated in the axial gauge. While the pressure between the plates agrees with the global Casimir force, the energy density is divergent at the plates and not compatible with the total energy which follows from the force. However, subtracting the divergent self-energies of the plates, the resulting energy is finite and consistent with the force. In analogy with the corresponding scalar case for spacetime dimensions D > 2, the divergent self-energy of a single plate can be related to the lack of conformal invariance of the electromagnetic Lagrangian for dimensions D > 4.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.hep-ph/0610081,
title = {Resolution of an apparent inconsistency in the electromagnetic Casimir effect},
author = {H. Alnes and K. Olaussen and F. Ravndal and I. K. Wehus},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:hep-ph/0610081},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
v2: 7 pages, minor update, one reference added, published version