Thermally Excited Quasiparticles in Metals, Dispersion Forces, and the Thermal Anomaly

TL;DR

This paper reviews how thermally excited carriers in metals influence dispersion forces and may explain the plasma versus Drude anomaly observed in optical properties.

Contribution

It offers a concise review linking thermally excited carriers to dispersion forces and proposes their role in the plasma versus Drude anomaly.

Findings

Thermally excited carriers generate charge and current fluctuations.

These fluctuations have spectral frequencies around $k_B T/.

They are likely responsible for the plasma vs. Drude anomaly.

Abstract

We provide a brief review of the contribution of thermally excited carriers to dispersion forces. In a metal, these carriers generate charge and current fluctuations whose spectral frequencies are comparable to $k_B T/\hbar$. They are very likely responsible for the "plasma vs. Drude" anomaly.