Casimir Force between a Half-Space and a Plate of Finite Thickness

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the zero-frequency Casimir force between dielectric media, comparing statistical mechanical and field theoretical approaches, and discusses the implications of different models like Drude and plasma on experimental agreement.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparison of statistical and field theoretical methods for Casimir force calculations, clarifies the Drude-plasma discrepancy, and discusses the behavior of TE zero modes in different models.

Findings

Casimir force agrees with Drude model using statistical mechanics.

Reflection coefficients for TE zero modes depend on wave vector component in plasma model.

Experimental results favor plasma model over Drude, despite theoretical contradictions.

Abstract

Zero-frequency Casimir theory is analyzed from different viewpoints, focusing on the Drude-plasma issue that turns up when one considers thermal corrections to the Casimir force. The problem is that the plasma model, although leaving out dissipation in the material, apparently gives the best agreement with recent experiments. We consider a dielectric plate separated from a dielectric half-space by a vacuum gap, both media being similar. We consider the following categories: (1) Making use of the statistical mechanical method developed by H{\o}ye and Brevik (1998), implying that the quantized electromagnetic field is replaced by interaction between dipole moments oscillating in harmonic potentials, we first verify that the Casimir force is in agreement with the Drude prediction. No use of Fresnel's reflection coefficients is made at this stage. (2) Then turning to the field theoretical description implying use of the reflection coefficients, we derive results in agreement with the forgoing when first setting the frequency equal to zero, before letting the permittivity becoming large. With the plasma relation the reflection coefficient for TE zero frequency modes depend on the component of the wave vector parallel to the surfaces and lies between 0 and 1. This contradicts basic electrostatic theory. (3) Turning to high permeability magnetic materials the TE zero frequency mode describes the static magnetic field in the same way as the TM zero frequency modes describe the static electric fields in electrostatics. With the plasma model magnetic fields, except for a small part, can not pass through metals. i.e.~metals effectively become superconductors. However, recent experimental results clearly favor the plasma model. We shortly discuss a possible explanation for this apparent conflict with electrostatics.