Related papers: Casimir effect in dielectrics: Surface area contri…
In a recent series of papers, Schwinger discussed a process that he called the Dynamical Casimir Effect. The key essence of this effect is the change in zero-point energy associated with any change in a dielectric medium. (In particular, if…
The Casimir energy of a solid ball (or cavity in an infinite medium) is calculated by a direct frequency summation using the contour integration. The dispersion is taken into account, and the divergences are removed by making use of the…
We consider the vacuum energy of the electromagnetic field in the background of spherically symmetric dielectrics, subject to a cut-off frequency in the dispersion relations. The effect of this frequency dependent boundary condition between…
We show that the Casimir, or zero-point, energy of a dilute dielectric ball, or of a spherical bubble in a dielectric medium, coincides with the sum of the van der Waals energies between the molecules that make up the medium. That energy,…
Schwinger's Dynamical Casimir Effect is one of several candidate explanations for sonoluminescence. Recently, several papers have claimed that Schwinger's estimate of the Casimir energy involved is grossly inaccurate. In this letter, we…
The Casimir effect at finite temperature is investigated for a dilute dielectric ball; i.e., the relevant internal and free energies are calculated. The starting point in this study is a rigorous general expression for the internal energy…
Several years ago Schwinger proposed a physical mechanism for sonoluminescence in terms of changes in the properties of the quantum-electrodynamic (QED) vacuum state. This mechanism is most often phrased in terms of changes in the Casimir…
Although Casimir, or quantum vacuum, forces between distinct bodies, or self-stresses of individual bodies, have been calculated by a variety of different methods since 1948, they have always been plagued by divergences. Some of these…
The survey summarizes briefly the results obtained recently in the Casimir effect studies considering the following subjects: i) account of the material characteristics of the media and their influence on the vacuum energy (for example,…
In the final few years of his life, Julian Schwinger proposed that the ``dynamical Casimir effect'' might provide the driving force behind the puzzling phenomenon of sonoluminescence. Motivated by that exciting suggestion, we have computed…
The survey summarizes briefly the results obtained recently in the Casimir effect studies considering the following subjects: i) account of the material characteristics of the media and their influence on the vacuum energy (for example,…
In the final few years of his life, Julian Schwinger proposed that the ``dynamical Casimir effect'' might provide the driving force behind the puzzling phenomenon of sonoluminescence. Motivated by that exciting suggestion, I have computed…
The experimental observation of intense light emission by acoustically driven, periodically collapsing bubbles of air in water (sonoluminescence) has yet to receive an adequate explanation. One of the most intriguing ideas is that the…
Zero-point fluctuations in quantum fields give rise to observable forces between material bodies, the so-called Casimir forces. In this lecture I present some results of the theory of the Casimir effect, primarily formulated in terms of…
The Casimir effect, reflecting quantum vacuum fluctuations in the electromagnetic field in a region with material boundaries, has been studied both theoretically and experimentally since 1948. The forces between dielectric and metallic…
We provide a review of both new experimental and theoretical developments in the Casimir effect. The Casimir effect results from the alteration by the boundaries of the zero-point electromagnetic energy. Unique to the Casimir force is its…
The Casimir effect in an inhomogeneous dielectric is investigated using Lifshitz's theory of electromagnetic vacuum energy. A permittivity function that depends continuously on one Cartesian coordinate is chosen, bounded on each side by…
The Casimir effect for general Robin conditions on the surface of a cylinder in $D$-spacetime dimensions is studied for massive scalar field with general curvature coupling. The energy distribution and vacuum stress are investigated. We…
Casimir forces are a manifestation of the change in the zero-point energy of the vacuum caused by the insertion of boundaries. We show how the Casimir force can be efficiently computed by consideration of the vacuum fluctuations that are…
The Casimir effect is a physical manifestation of zero point energy of quantum vacuum. In a relativistic quantum field theory, Poincar\'e symmetry of the theory seems, at first sight, to imply that non-zero vacuum energy is inconsistent…