Experiment, theory and the Casimir effect
arXiv:0903.0815 · doi:10.1088/1742-6596/161/1/012003
Abstract
Several problems at the interface between the field-theoretical description of the Casimir effect and experiments on measuring the Casimir force are discussed. One of these problems is connected with the definition of the Casimir free energy in ideal metal rectangular boxes satisfying the general physical requirements. It is shown that the consideration of rectangular boxes with a partition (piston) does not negate the previously known results obtained for boxes without a piston. Both sets of results are found to be in mutual agreement. Another problem is related to the use of the proximity force approximation for the interpretation of the experimental data and to the search of analytical results beyond the PFA based on the first principles of quantum field theory. Next, we discuss concepts of experimental precision and of the measure of agreement between experiment and theory. The fundamental difference between these two concepts is clarified. Finally, recent approach to the thermal Casimir force taking screening effects into account is applied to real metals. It is shown that this approach is thermodynamically and experimentally inconsistent. The physical reasons of this inconsistency are connected with the violation of thermal equilibrium which is the basic applicability condition of the Lifshitz theory.
18 pages, 6 figures, uses jpconf.cls style. Invited plenary talk at "60 Years of the Casimir Effect", Brasilia, June 23-27, 2008, to appear in J. Phys. Conf. Series
References in corpus (24)
- Measurement of the Temperature Dependence of the Casimir-Polder Force
- Novel constraints on light elementary particles and extra-dimensional physics from the Casimir effect
- Measurement of the Casimir force between a gold sphere and silicon surface with nanoscale trench arrays
- The Casimir effect for a sphere and a cylinder in front of plane and corrections to the proximity force theorem
- Worldline algorithms for Casimir configurations
- Casimir force on a piston
- Anomalies in electrostatic calibrations for the measurement of the Casimir force in a sphere-plane geometry
- Demonstration of the difference Casimir force for samples with different charge carrier densities
- Experimental test for the conductivity properties from the Casimir force between metal and semiconductor
- Casimir energy between a plane and a sphere in electromagnetic vacuum
- Fluctuation induced quantum interactions between compact objects and a plane mirror
- Thermal Lifshitz Force between Atom and Conductor with Small Density of Carriers
- Sample dependence of the Casimir forces
- Casimir piston for massless scalar fields in three dimensions
- Casimir Forces in a Piston Geometry at Zero and Finite Temperatures
- Contribution of drifting carriers to the Casimir-Lifshitz and Casimir-Polder interactions with semiconductor materials
- Comment on "Anomalies in electrostatic calibration for the measurement of the Casimir force in a sphere-plane geometry"
- Thermal Casimir effect in ideal metal rectangular boxes
- Casimir pistons with hybrid boundary conditions
- Analytic approach to the thermal Casimir force between metal and dielectric
- Finite temperature Casimir energy in closed rectangular cavities: a rigorous derivation based on zeta function technique
- Problems in the theory of thermal Casimir force between dielectrics and semiconductors
- Generalized plasma-like permittivity and thermal Casimir force between real metals
- New approach to the thermal Casimir force between real metals
Cited by in corpus (13)
- Control of the Casimir Force Using Semiconductor Test Bodies
- Casimir effect in quadratic theories of gravity
- Casimir effect in Post-Newtonian Gravity with Lorentz-violation
- Casimir effect in Extended Theories of Gravity
- Casimir entropy for magnetodielectrics
- The Casimir Effect and the Foundations of Statistical Physics
- Possibility of measuring the thermal Casimir interaction between a plate and a cylinder attached to a micromachined oscillator
- Progress in Experimental Measurements of the Surface-Surface Casimir Force: Electrostatic Calibrations and Limitations to Accuracy
- Time-space noncommutativity and Casimir effect
- Graphene Cantilever Under Casimir Force
- Comparison of the experimental data for the Casimir pressure with the Lifshitz theory at zero temperature
- Normal and lateral Casimir force: Advances and prospects
- Casimir Wormholes in Brans-Dicke Theory