Controlling the atom-sphere interaction with an external electric field

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how an external electric field can actively control and even reverse the atom-sphere dispersive force, enabling tunable and potentially repulsive interactions in nanoscale systems.

Contribution

It introduces a method to manipulate atom-sphere forces using external electric fields, allowing for force tuning and repulsion without physical contact.

Findings

Electrostatic fields can overcome attractive dispersive forces.

Repulsive forces are achievable with feasible laboratory field intensities.

Control effectiveness varies with atom type and sphere material.

Abstract

We investigate the system constituted by a polarizable atom near a nanosphere under the influence of an external electrostatic field, showing that the attractive dispersive force between them can be overcome by the electrostatic interaction. Therefore, in addition to the advantageous possibility of actively tuning the resultant force with an external agent without the requirement of physical contact, this force may also become repulsive. We analyze this situation in different physical regimes of distance and explore the interaction of different atoms with both metallic and dielectric spheres, discussing which cases are easier to control. Furthermore, our results reveal that these repulsive forces can be achieved with feasible field intensities in the laboratory.