Thermal Casimir versus Casimir-Polder Forces: Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Forces

2008/03/31 by Stefan Yoshi Buhmann, Stefan Scheel · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.100.253201

published as Physical Review Letters 100 (25), 253201 (2008) · 5 pages, 0 figures, minor additions

openalex publication_date 2008/06/26 · arxiv created 2008/08/14 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We critically discuss whether and under what conditions Lifshitz theory may be used to describe thermal Casimir-Polder forces on atoms or molecules. An exact treatment of the atom-field coupling reveals that for a ground-state atom (molecule), terms associated with virtual-photon absorption lead to a deviation from the traditional Lifshitz result; they are identified as a signature of nonequilibrium dynamics. Even the equilibrium force on a thermalized atom (molecule) may be overestimated when using the ground-state polarizability instead of its thermal counterpart.

Citations

• El final de la era del petróleo barato
• Precision measurements with polar molecules: the role of the black body radiation
• Chemical identification of individual surface atoms by atomic force microscopy
• New Developments in the Casimir Effect
• Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and a cavity wall under the influence of real conditions
• Does the transverse electric zero mode contribute to the Casimir effect for a metal?

Cited by

• Casimir Force: Vacuum fluctuation, zero-point energy, and computational electromagnetics
• Dynamics of thermal Casimir-Polder forces on polar molecules
• Impact of amplifying media on the Casimir force
• Nonequilibrium thermal Casimir–Polder forces
• Enhancement of thermal Casimir-Polder potentials of ground-state polar molecules in a planar cavity
• Dynamics of an elementary quantum system in environments out of thermal equilibrium