Some Mathematical Aspects of the Lifshitz Formula for the Thermal Casimir Force
arXiv:quant-ph/0503064
Abstract
The applicability of the Lifshitz formula is discussed to the case of two thick parallel plates made of real metal. The usual description of the zero-point vacuum oscillations on the background of the frequency-dependent dielectric permittivity is shown to be in contradiction with thermodynamics. Instead, the Lifshitz formula for the Casimir free energy should be reformulated in terms of the reflection coefficients containing the surface impedance instead of the dielectric permittivity. This approach is presently confirmed experimentally by precision measurements of the van der Waals and Casimir forces in micromechanical systems and it is in agreement with thermodynamics.
arXiv comment7 pages, style file PoS.cls, Fourth International Winter Conference on Mathematical Methods in Physics. Published by SISSA, http://pos.sissa.it
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