Related papers: Casimir forces
Zero-point fluctuations in quantum fields give rise to observable forces between material bodies, the so-called Casimir forces. In these lectures I present the theory of the Casimir effect, primarily formulated in terms of Green's…
We study the situation where two point like mirrors are placed in the vacuum state of a scalar field in a two-dimensional spacetime. Describing the scattering upon the mirrors by transmittivity and reflectivity functions obeying unitarity,…
A short lecture given at the Summer School on "Modern perspectives in lattice QCD", Les Houches, August 3-28, 2009.
We review the theory of the Casimir effect using scattering techniques. After years of theoretical efforts, this formalism is now largely mastered so that the accuracy of theory-experiment comparisons is determined by the level of precision…
We report on current efforts to detect the thermal and dissipative contributions to the Casimir force. For the thermal component, two experiments are in progress at Dartmouth and at the Institute Laue Langevin in Grenoble. The first…
Based on a unified approach to macroscopic QED that allows for the inclusion of amplification in a limited space and frequency range, we study the Casimir force as a Lorentz force on an arbitrary partially amplifying system of linearly…
Casimir effect is the attractive force which acts between two plane parallel, closely spaced, uncharged, metallic plates in vacuum. This phenomenon was predicted theoretically in 1948 and reliably investigated experimentally only in recent…
We compute the Casimir energy of a real scalar field in the presence of a pair of partially transparent plane mirrors, modeled by Dirac delta potentials.
We study the influence of finite conductivity of metals on the Casimir effect. We put the emphasis on explicit theoretical evaluations which can help comparing experimental results with theory. The reduction of the Casimir force is…
The Casimir force can be understood as resulting from the radiation pressure exerted by the vacuum fluctuations reflected by boundaries. We extend this local formulation to the case of partially transmitting boundaries by introducing…
We present here detailed measurements of the Casimir-Lifshitz force between two gold surfaces, performed for the first time in both gas (nitrogen) and liquid (ethanol) enviroments with the same apparatus and on the same spot of the sample.…
We provide a Quantum Field Theory derivation of Lifshitz formula for the Casimir force due to a fluctuating real scalar field in $d+1$ dimensions. The field is coupled to two imperfect, thick, plane mirrors, which are modeled by background…
We reformulate the Casimir force in the presence of a non-trivial background. The force may be written in terms of loop variables, the loop being a curve around the scattering sites. A natural path ordering of exponentials take place when a…
We investigate the Casimir force between two dissimilar plane mirrors the material properties of which are described by Drude or Lorentz models. We calculate analytically the short and long distance asymptote of the force and relate its…
The Casimir force is calculated in the configuration of a spherical lens and a disc of finite radius covered by $Cu$ and $Au$ thin layers which was used in a recent experiment. The correction to the Casimir force due to finiteness of the…
The Casimir effect refers to the existence of a macroscopic force between conducting plates in vacuum due to quantum fluctuations of fields. These forces play an important role, among other things, in the design of nano-scale mechanical…
We report an improved precision measurement of the Casimir force. The force is measured between a large Al coated sphere and flat plate using an Atomic Force Microscope. The primary experimental improvements include the use of smoother…
We describe experimental and related theoretical work on the measurement of the Casimir force using semiconductor test bodies. This field of research started in 2005 and several important and interesting results have already been obtained.…
The presence of finite energy in quantum vacuum has profound implications to physics at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. One of the direct consequences of vacuum energy is the Casimir Force, which is a force of attraction experienced…
The Casimir force has been computed exactly for only a few simple geometries, such as infinite plates, cylinders, and spheres. We show that a parabolic cylinder, for which analytic solutions to the Helmholtz equation are available, is…