Casimir effect with dynamical matter on thin mirrors

TL;DR

This paper calculates the Casimir energy for scalar and gauge fields interacting with thin, zero-width mirrors, incorporating quantum effects of matter fields and dissipation, revealing complex mode energies and validating Lifshitz formula results.

Contribution

It provides a general framework for computing Casimir energy with dynamical matter on thin mirrors, including dissipation effects and their impact on electromagnetic modes.

Findings

Quantum matter fields induce dissipation and complex energies in the effective electromagnetic theory.

The Lifshitz formula's formal result matches the full quantum fluctuation calculation when dissipation is neglected.

Dissipation effects are significant and modify the mode structure of the electromagnetic field.

Abstract

We calculate the Casimir energy for scalar and gauge fields in interaction with zero-width mirrors, including quantum effects due to the matter fields inside the mirrors. We consider models where those fields are either scalar or fermionic, obtaining general expressions for the energy as a function of the vacuum field 1PI function. We also study, within the frame of a concrete model, the role of the dissipation induced by those degrees of freedom, showing that, after integration of the matter fields, the effective theory for the electromagnetic field contains modes with complex energies. As for the case of Lifshitz formula, we show that the formal result obtained by neglecting dissipation coincides with the correct result that comes from the quantum fluctuations of both bulk and matter fields.