6533b820fe1ef96bd127a41c

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Van der Waals Interactions in a Magneto-Dielectric Medium

Salvatore SpagnoloSalvatore SpagnoloDiego A. R. DalvitPeter W. Milonni

subject

Electromagnetic fieldPhysicsQuantum PhysicsVan der Waals surfaceVan der Waals strainFOS: Physical sciencesMolecular physicsAtomic and Molecular Physics and OpticsMany-body problemsymbols.namesakePolarizabilitysymbolsPhysics::Atomic and Molecular ClustersVan der Waals radiusPhysics::Atomic PhysicsAtomic physicsvan der Waals forceQuantum Physics (quant-ph)Absorption (electromagnetic radiation)

description

The van der Waals interaction between two ground-state atoms is calculated for two electrically or magnetically polarizable particles embedded in a dispersive magneto-dielectric medium. Unlike previous calculations which infer the atom-atom interaction from the dilute-medium limit of the macroscopic, many-body van der Waals interaction, the interaction is calculated directly for the system of two atoms in a magneto-dielectric medium. Two approaches are presented, the first based on the quantized electromagnetic field in a dispersive medium without absorption and the second on Green functions that allow for absorption. We show that the correct van der Waals interactions are obtained regardless of whether absorption in the host medium is taken into account.

10.1103/physreva.75.052117http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0702117