Thermal Casimir–Polder force between an atom and a dielectric plate: thermodynamics and experiment

2008/02/29 by G. L. Klimchitskaya, U. Mohideen, V. M. Mostepanenko · 3 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Atom (system on chip) #Casimir effect #Condensed matter physics #Dielectric #Entropy (arrow of time) #Nernst effect #Nernst equation #Physics #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum mechanics #Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies #Thermal conductivity #Thermodynamics #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1751-8113/41/43/432001

published as J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. v.41, 432001-(1-9) (2008) · 10 pages, 1 figure; improved discussion; to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. (Fast Track Communications)

arxiv created 2008/09/16 · openalex publication_date 2008/09/29 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

The low-temperature behavior of the Casimir–Polder free energy and entropy for an atom near a dielectric plate are found on the basis of the Lifshitz theory. The obtained results are shown to be thermodynamically consistent if the dc conductivity of the plate material is disregarded. With inclusion of dc conductivity, both the standard Lifshitz theory (for all dielectrics) and its generalization taking into account screening effects (for a wide range of dielectrics) violate the Nernst heat theorem. The inclusion of the screening effects is also shown to be inconsistent with experimental data of Casimir force measurements. The physical reasons for this inconsistency are elucidated.

Citations

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• Problems in the theory of the thermal Casimir force between dielectrics and semiconductors
• Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and a cavity wall under the influence of real conditions
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