2006/05/10 by Michael Brown-Hayes, M Brown-Hayes, J. H. Brownell +17
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Casimir effect #Classical mechanics #Dissipative system #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum mechanics #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0305-4470/39/21/s10
published as J. Phys. A 39, 6195 (2006) · Contribution to QFEXT'06, appeared in special issue of Journal of Physics A
openalex publication_date 2006/05/10 · arxiv created 2006/11/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
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 experiment will seek to detect the Casimir force at the largest explorable distance using a cylinder-plane geometry which offers various advantages with respect to both sphere-plane and parallel-plane geometries. In the second experiment, the Casimir force in the parallel-plane configuration is measured with a dedicated torsional balance, up to 10 µm. Parallelism of large surfaces, critical for this configuration, is maintained through the use of inclinometer technology already implemented at Grenoble for the study of gravitationally bound states of ultracold neutrons. For the dissipative component of the Casimir force, we discuss detection techniques based upon the use of hyperfine spectroscopy of ultracold atoms and Rydberg atoms. Although quite challenging, this triad of experimental efforts, if successful, will give us a better knowledge of the interplay between quantum and thermal fluctuations of the electromagnetic field and of the nature of dissipation induced by the motion of objects in a quantum vacuum.