Measuring the Casimir-Polder potential with Unruh-DeWitt detector excitations

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method to measure Casimir-Polder forces using atomic excitations in an optical cavity, linking excitation rates to Casimir-Polder energy via an Unruh-DeWitt framework.

Contribution

It presents a new approach to probe Casimir-Polder potentials through atomic excitation measurements, connecting quantum field theory with experimental atomic physics.

Findings

Establishes a theoretical connection between atomic excitation rates and Casimir-Polder energy.

Proposes a practical experimental setup using atomic ensembles in optical cavities.

Suggests a new route for studying quantum vacuum effects via atomic state populations.

Abstract

We propose a new method to measure Casimir-Polder force in an optical cavity by means of atomic excitations. We utilize a framework in which Unruh-DeWitt Hamiltonian mimics the full matter-field interaction and find a connection between the excitation rate of the two-level atom and the Casimir-Polder energy, allowing to map one onto the other. We argue that such a realization opens a route to study Casimir-Polder potentials through measurement of excited state's population in large, spatially compact ensembles of atoms.