Dynamical Casimir-Polder interaction between a chiral molecule and a surface

TL;DR

This paper introduces a dynamical approach to analyze the time-dependent Casimir-Polder force between a chiral molecule and a surface, revealing oscillatory behavior and convergence to static forces over time.

Contribution

It presents a novel dynamical framework for studying Casimir-Polder interactions, including effects of initial conditions and molecular self-dressing.

Findings

Casimir-Polder force oscillates in time with molecular transition frequency.

Force converges to static value at large times.

Dynamical effects are significant for understanding molecule-surface interactions.

Abstract

We develop a dynamical approach to study the Casimir-Polder force between a initially bare molecule and a magnetodielectric body at finite temperature. Switching on the interaction between the molecule and the field at a particular time, we study the resulting temporal evolution of the Casimir-Polder interaction. The dynamical self-dressing of the molecule and its population-induced dynamics are accounted for and discussed. In particular, we find that the Casimir-Polder force between a chiral molecule and a perfect mirror oscillates in time with a frequency related to the molecular transition frequency, and converges to the static result for large times.