Effect of finite temperature and uniaxial anisotropy on the Casimir effect with three-dimensional topological insulators

TL;DR

This study investigates how finite temperature and uniaxial anisotropy influence the Casimir effect in three-dimensional topological insulators, highlighting the robustness of repulsive behavior and equilibrium points under these conditions.

Contribution

It provides a qualitative analysis of the Casimir effect in topological insulators considering temperature and anisotropy, which has not been extensively explored before.

Findings

Repulsive Casimir behavior is robust under temperature and anisotropy.

Low temperatures and enhanced optical response favor repulsion.

Equilibrium points depend on temperature and topological properties.

Abstract

In this work we study the Casimir effect with three-dimensional topological insulators including the effects of temperature and uniaxial anisotropy. Although precise experimental values for the optical properties of these materials are yet to be established, qualitative analysis is still possible. We find qualitatively that the reported repulsive behavior and the equilibrium point are robust features of the system, and are favored by low temperatures and the enhancement of the optical response parallel to the optical axis. The dependence of the equilibrium point with temperature and with the topological magnetoelectric polarizability characteristic of three-dimensional topological insulators is also discussed.