Quantum field theory of the Casimir force for graphene

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework for the Casimir force in graphene using Lifshitz theory and polarization tensors, explaining thermal effects and aligning well with experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces an analytic representation of the polarization tensor for graphene, enabling simple asymptotic expressions for reflection coefficients across all frequencies.

Findings

Good agreement with experimental measurements of Casimir force gradients.

Demonstrates the feasibility of observing thermal effects in graphene Casimir interactions.

Provides a basis for future experimental and theoretical studies on graphene Casimir forces.

Abstract

We present theoretical description of the Casimir interaction in graphene systems which is based on the Lifshitz theory of dispersion forces and the formalism of the polarization tensor in (2+1)-dimensional space-time. The representation for the polarization tensor of graphene allowing the analytic continuation to the whole plane of complex frequencies is given. This representation is used to obtain simple asymptotic expressions for the reflection coefficients at all Matsubara frequencies and to investigate the origin of large thermal effect in the Casimir force for graphene. The developed theory is shown to be in a good agreement with the experimental data on measuring the gradient of the Casimir force between a Au-coated sphere and a graphene-coated substrate. The possibility to observe the thermal effect for graphene due to a minor modification of the already existing experimental setup is demonstrated.