Crossover from Attractive to Repulsive Casimir Forces and Vice Versa

Felix M. Schmidt and H. W. Diehl
Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 100601 – Published 3 September 2008

Abstract

Systems described by an O(n) symmetrical ϕ4 Hamiltonian are considered in a d-dimensional film geometry at their bulk critical points. The critical Casimir forces between the film’s boundary planes Bj, j=1,2, are investigated as functions of film thickness L for generic symmetry-preserving boundary conditions nϕ=cjϕ. The L-dependent part of the reduced excess free energy per cross-sectional area takes the scaling form fresD(c1LΦ/ν,c2LΦ/ν)/Ld1 when d<4, where ci are scaling fields associated with the variables ci and Φ is a surface crossover exponent. Explicit two-loop renormalization group results for the function D(c1,c2) at d=4ϵ dimensions are presented. These show that (i) the Casimir force can have either sign, depending on c1 and c2, and (ii) for appropriate choices of the enhancements cj, crossovers from attraction to repulsion and vice versa occur as L increases.

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  • Received 13 June 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.100601

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Felix M. Schmidt and H. W. Diehl

  • Fachbereich Physik, Universität Duisburg-Essen, 47048 Duisburg, Germany

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Issue

Vol. 101, Iss. 10 — 5 September 2008

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