Casimir-Polder Potential in Thermal Non-Equilibrium

TL;DR

This paper develops a general framework using Keldysh Green functions to analyze thermal Casimir--Polder interactions in non-equilibrium conditions, revealing novel effects for molecules outside equilibrium.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive method to study non-equilibrium Casimir--Polder forces, including new results for molecules in cylindrical cavities.

Findings

Non-equilibrium conditions significantly alter Casimir--Polder potentials.

New effects observed for molecules out of equilibrium with their environment.

Similar behaviors found in planar and cylindrical geometries.

Abstract

Different non-equilibrium situations have recently been considered when studying the thermal Casimir--Polder interaction with a body. We show that the Keldysh Green function method provides a very general common framework for such studies where non-equilibrium of either the atom or the body with the environment can be accounted for. We apply the results to the case of ground state polar molecules out of equilibrium with their environment, observing several striking effects. We consider thermal Casimir--Polder potentials in planar configurations, and new results for a molecule in a cylindrical cavity are reported, showing similar characteristic behaviour as found in planar geometry.