Large temperature dependence of the Casimir force at the metal-insulator transition

Abstract

The dependence of the Casimir force on material properties is important for both future applications and to gain further insight on its fundamental aspects. Here we derive a general theory of the Casimir force for low-conducting compounds, or poor metals. For distances in the micrometer range, a large variety of such materials is described by universal equations containing a few parameters: the effective plasma frequency, dissipation rate of the free carriers, and electric permittivity in the infrared range. This theory can also describe inhomogeneous composite materials containing small regions with different conductivity. The Casimir force for mechanical systems involving samples made with compounds that have a metal-insulator transition shows an abrupt large temperature dependence of the Casimir force within the transition region, where metallic and dielectric phases coexist.

23 pages, 9 figures

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Cited by in corpus (7)

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• Mixing rules and the Casimir force between composite systems
• Fluid sensitive nanoscale switching with quantum levitation controlled by $\alpha$-Sn/$\beta$-Sn phase transition
• Origin of the repulsive Casimir force in giant polarization-interconversion materials
• On the Temperature Dependence of the Casimir Force for Bulk Lossy Media
• Electrically switchable Casimir forces using transparent conductive oxides
• Optical forces on an oscillating dipole near VO${}_2$ phase transition