Advances in the Casimir Effect

by Michael Bordag, Galina Leonidovna Klimchitskaya, Umar Mohideen, Vladimir Mikhaylovich Mostepanenko

Overview

The subject of this book is the Casimir effect, a manifestation of zero-point oscillations of the quantum vacuum resulting in forces acting between closely spaced bodies. For the benefit of the reader, the book assembles field-theoretical foundations of this phenomenon, applications of the general theory to real materials, and a comprehensive description of all recently performed measurements of the Casimir force with a comparison between experiment and theory. There is an urgent need for a book of this type, given the increase of interest in forces originating from the quantum vacuum. Numerous new results have been obtained in the last few years which are not reflected in previous books on the subject, but which are very promising for fundamental science and nanotechnology. The book is a unique source of information presenting a critical assessment of all the main results and approaches from hundreds of journal papers. It also outlines new ideas which have not yet been universally accepted but which are finding increasing support from experiment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191579882
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	05/28/2009
Series:	International Series of Monographs on Physics , #145
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	46 MB
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About the Author

Dr Michael Bordag has held a number of positions at the University of Leipzig, Germany, and currently lectures there. Professor Galina Leonidovna Klimchitskaya began her career at the Leningrad State University, and is now Professor of the Department of Physics of the North-West Technical University (St.Petersburg, Russia). She has held visiting Professorships at Leipzig University, Germany; University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa, Brazil; Central Brazilian Physical Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the University of California, Riverside, USA. Professor Umar Mohideen has held various positions at the University of California, Riverside, USA, and is now Vice-Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy there. Professor Vladimir Mostepanenko is currently Principal Researcher of the Noncommercial Partnership ''Scientific Instruments'' (Moscow, Russia). He has held Visiting Professorships at Leipzig University, Germany; University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa, Brazil; Central Brazilian Physical Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the University of California, Riverside, USA.

Table of Contents

1. IntroductionI: PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE CASIMIR EFFECT FOR IDEAL BOUNDARIES2. Simple models of the Casimir effect3. Field quantization and vacuum energy in the presence of boundaries4. Regularization and renormalization of the vacuum energy5. The Casimir effect at nonzero temperature6. Approximate and numerical approaches to the Casimir effect7. The Casimir effect for two ideal metal planes8. The Casimir effect in rectangular boxes9. Single spherical and cylindrical boundaries10. The Casimir force between objects of arbitrary shape11. Spaces with non-Euclidean topologyII: THE CASIMIR FORCE BETWEEN REAL BODIES12. The Lifshitz theory of van der Waals and Casimir forces between plane dielectrics13. The Casimir interaction between plates made of real metals at zero temperature14. The Casimir interaction between real metals at nonzero temperature15. The Casimir interaction between metal and dielectric16. The Lifshitz theory of atom-wall interaction17. The Casimir force between rough and corrugated surfacesIII: MEASUREMENTS OF THE CASIMIR FORCE AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN BOTH FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS AND NANOTECHNOLOGY18. General requirements for Casimir force measurements19. Measurements of the Casimir force between equals20. Measurements of the Casimir force with semiconductors21. Measurements of the Casimir force in configurations with corrugated surfaces22. Measurement of the Casimir-Polder force23. Applications of the Casimir force in nanotechnology24. Constraints on hypothetical interactions from the Casimir effect25. Conclusions and outlook