Body-assisted dispersion potentials of diamagnetic atoms

TL;DR

This paper derives dispersion potentials for diamagnetic atoms in various environments, revealing they can have similar signs to electric potentials but differ in distance dependence, using macroscopic QED.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for calculating diamagnetic dispersion potentials in arbitrary environments, extending previous electric-focused models.

Findings

Diamagnetic potentials can have the same sign as electric ones.

Distance dependence of diamagnetic potentials can differ significantly.

Results apply to atoms near perfect mirrors and in free space.

Abstract

We derive Casimir-Polder and van der Waals potentials of one or two atoms with diamagnetic properties in an arbitrary environment of magnetoelectric bodies. The calculations are based on macroscopic quantum electrodynamics and leading-order perturbation theory. For the examples of an atom and a perfect mirror and two atoms in free space we show that diamagnetic dispersion potentials have the same sign as their electric counterparts, but can exhibit quite different distance dependences.