New approach to the thermal Casimir force between real metals

2008/01/22 by V. M. Mostepanenko, B. Geyer
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies #cond-mat.stat-mech #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1751-8113/41/16/164014

published as J.Phys.A41:164014,2008 · 14 pages, 6 figures. Proceedings of QFEXT07, to appear in J. Phys. A

arxiv created 2008/01/22 · openalex publication_date 2008/04/09 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

The new approach to the theoretical description of the thermal Casimir force between real metals is presented. It uses the plasma-like dielectric permittivity that takes into account the interband transitions of core electrons. This permittivity precisely satisfies the Kramers-Kronig relations. The respective Casimir entropy is positive and vanishes at zero temperature in accordance with the Nernst heat theorem. The physical reasons why the Drude dielectric function, when substituted in the Lifshitz formula, is inconsistent with electrodynamics are elucidated. The proposed approach is the single one consistent with all measurements of the Casimir force performed up to date. The application of this approach to metal-type semiconductors is considered.

Citations

• The theory of molecular attractive forces between solids
• Stiction, adhesion energy, and the Casimir effect in micromechanical systems
• New Developments in the Casimir Effect
• Experimental and theoretical investigation of the lateral Casimir force between corrugated surfaces
• Sample dependence of the Casimir force
• Does the transverse electric zero mode contribute to the Casimir effect for a metal?
• Classical Electrodynamics