Effective field theory approach to Casimir interactions on soft matter surfaces

TL;DR

This paper develops an effective field theory framework to compute Casimir interactions on soft matter surfaces, enabling systematic inclusion of finite size, shape, and deformability effects, and deriving new interaction results.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic EFT approach for Casimir interactions on fluctuating surfaces, capturing finite size and deformability effects, and deriving new triplet and higher-order interaction results.

Findings

Re-derivation of known pair forces between objects on membranes.

Derivation of triplet interactions in soft matter systems.

Establishment of scaling laws for interactions of arbitrary shapes.

Abstract

We utilize an effective field theory approach to calculate Casimir interactions between objects bound to thermally fluctuating fluid surfaces or interfaces. This approach circumvents the complicated constraints imposed by such objects on the functional integration measure by reverting to a point particle representation. To capture the finite size effects, we perturb the Hamiltonian by DH that encapsulates the particles' response to external fields. DH is systematically expanded in a series of terms, each of which scales homogeneously in the two power counting parameters: \lambda \equiv R/r, the ratio of the typical object size (R) to the typical distance between them (r), and delta=kB T/k, where k is the modulus characterizing the surface energy. The coefficients of the terms in DH correspond to generalized polarizabilities and thus the formalism applies to rigid as well as deformable objects. Singularities induced by the point particle description can be dealt with using standard renormalization techniques. We first illustrate and verify our approach by re-deriving known pair forces between circular objects bound to films or membranes. To demonstrate its efficiency and versatility, we then derive a number of new results: The triplet interactions present in these systems, a higher order correction to the film interaction, and general scaling laws for the leading order interaction valid for objects of arbitrary shape and internal flexibility.