Casimir energy of a dilute dispersive dielectric ball: realistic microscopic model
arXiv:quant-ph/0202017 · doi:10.1142/S0217751X0201011X
Abstract
The Casimir energy of a dilute homogeneous nonmagnetic dielectric ball at zero temperature is derived analytically within a microscopic realistic model of dielectrics for an arbitrary physically possible frequency dispersion of dielectric permittivity. Divergences are absent in calculations, a minimum interatomic distance is a physical cut-off. Casimir surface force is proved to be attractive. A physical definition of the Casimir energy is discussed.
Latex 2e, 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A [a talk given at the Fifth Leipzig Workshop on Quantum Field Theory under the Influence of External Conditions, September 10-14, 2001]