Scattering-matrix approach to Casimir-Lifshitz force and heat transfer out of thermal equilibrium between arbitrary bodies

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive scattering-matrix framework to analyze radiative heat transfer and Casimir-Lifshitz forces between arbitrarily shaped bodies at different temperatures, extending understanding of non-equilibrium quantum electromagnetic interactions.

Contribution

It introduces explicit closed-form expressions for electromagnetic correlations, heat transfer, and forces between bodies of arbitrary shape and dielectric properties out of thermal equilibrium.

Findings

Derived analytic formulas for electromagnetic field correlations.

Analyzed specific atom-surface and slab-slab configurations.

Provided insights into non-equilibrium Casimir and heat transfer phenomena.

Abstract

We study the radiative heat transfer and the Casimir-Lifshitz force occurring between two bodies in a system out of thermal equilibrium. We consider bodies of arbitrary shape and dielectric properties, held at two different temperatures, and immersed in a environmental radiation at a third different temperature. We derive explicit closed-form analytic expressions for the correlations of the electromagnetic field, and for the heat transfer and Casimir-Lifshitz force, in terms of the bodies scattering matrices. We then consider some particular cases which we investigate in detail: the atom-surface and the slab-slab configurations.