6533b7d8fe1ef96bd126b720

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Casimir-Polder force density between an atom and a conducting wall

Roberto PassanteRiccardo Messina

subject

Body forcePhysicsQuantum PhysicsNormal forceForce densityVan der Waals interactionElectrostatic force microscopeSurface forceFOS: Physical sciencesAtom-surface interactionAtomic and Molecular Physics and OpticsClassical mechanicsCentral forceQuantum electrodynamicsFluctuationsQuantum Physics (quant-ph)Conservative forceResultant force

description

In this paper we calculate the Casimir-Polder force density (force per unit area acting on the elements of the surface) on a metallic plate placed in front of a neutral atom. To obtain the force density we use the quantum operator associated to the electromagnetic stress tensor. We explicitly show that the integral of this force density over the plate reproduces the total force acting on the plate. This result shows that, although the force is obtained as a sum of surface element-atom contributions, the stress-tensor method includes also nonadditive components of Casimir-Polder forces in the evaluation of the force acting on a macroscopic object.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2007-04-26
10.1103/physreva.75.042113http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0611152