Fluctuations, dissipation and the dynamical Casimir effect

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in the dynamical Casimir effect and non-contact friction, emphasizing their common physical origins related to vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction forces.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of recent progress on dynamical Casimir and non-contact friction effects, connecting their physical mechanisms.

Findings

Dissipative forces arise from vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction.

Analog models simulate moving plates and are under experimental investigation.

Non-contact friction may occur in uniform relative motion without mechanical contact.

Abstract

Vacuum fluctuations provide a fundamental source of dissipation for systems coupled to quantum fields by radiation pressure. In the dynamical Casimir effect, accelerating neutral bodies in free space give rise to the emission of real photons while experiencing a damping force which plays the role of a radiation reaction force. Analog models where non-stationary conditions for the electromagnetic field simulate the presence of moving plates are currently under experimental investigation. A dissipative force might also appear in the case of uniform relative motion between two bodies, thus leading to a new kind of friction mechanism without mechanical contact. In this paper, we review recent advances on the dynamical Casimir and non-contact friction effects, highlighting their common physical origin.