A simple approach to the calculation of retarded dispersion forces

TL;DR

This paper introduces a phenomenological Hamiltonian to model electromagnetic interactions between neutral macroscopic bodies and revisits the additive principle for retarded dispersion forces.

Contribution

It presents a new phenomenological Hamiltonian and critically examines the validity of the additive principle in calculating retarded dispersion forces.

Findings

Proposes a novel Hamiltonian for macroscopic electromagnetic interactions.

Reevaluates the assumption of additive volume element contributions.

Provides insights into the calculation of retarded dispersion forces.

Abstract

We propose a phenomenological Hamiltonian for the interaction of neutral macroscopic bodies with the electromagnetic field. Subsequently we revisit the assumption according to which the retarded interactions between neutral macroscopic bodies can be obtained through an additive principle i.e. summing the volume elements defined by the macroscopic bodies.