Abstract
In discussions of the cosmological constant, the Casimir effect is often invoked as decisive evidence that the zero-point energies of quantum fields are “real.” On the contrary, Casimir effects can be formulated and Casimir forces can be computed without reference to zero-point energies. They are relativistic, quantum forces between charges and currents. The Casimir force (per unit area) between parallel plates vanishes as , the fine structure constant, goes to zero, and the standard result, which appears to be independent of , corresponds to the limit.
- Received 3 May 2005
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.72.021301
©2005 American Physical Society