Casimir-Polder effect with thermally excited surfaces

A. Laliotis and M. Ducloy
Phys. Rev. A 91, 052506 – Published 19 May 2015

Abstract

We take a closer look at the fundamental Casimir-Polder (CP) interaction between quantum particles and dispersive dielectric surfaces with surface polariton or plasmon resonances. Linear response theory shows that in the near-field, van der Waals regime the free-energy shift of a particle contains a thermal component that depends exclusively on the excitation of the evanescent surface polariton (plasmon or phonon) modes. Our work makes evident the link between particle surface interaction and near-field thermal emission and demonstrates how this can be used to engineer Casimir-Polder forces. We also examine how the exotic effects of surface waves are washed out as the distance from the surface increases. In the case of molecules or excited-state atoms, far-field approximations result in a classical dipole-dipole interaction which depends on the surface reflectivity and the mean number of photons at the frequency of the atomic or molecular transition. Finally we present numerical results for the CP interaction between Cs atoms and various dielectric surfaces with a single polariton resonance and discuss the implications of temperature and retardation effects for specific spectroscopic experiments.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 16 March 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.91.052506

©2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. Laliotis1,2,* and M. Ducloy1,2,3

  • 1Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, F-93430 Villetaneuse, France
  • 2CNRS, UMR 7538, LPL, 99 Avenue J.-B. Clément, F-93430 Villetaneuse, France
  • 3Departement of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637371 Singapore

  • *athanasios.laliotis@univ-paris13.fr

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 91, Iss. 5 — May 2015

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review A

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×