Dynamical Casimir effect with Robin boundary conditions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the dynamical Casimir effect for a scalar field with Robin boundary conditions, revealing unique force components and methods to minimize vacuum dissipation.

Contribution

It introduces a perturbative approach to analyze the Casimir force with Robin boundary conditions and demonstrates control over vacuum dissipation effects.

Findings

Force includes dissipative and dispersive parts for Robin conditions

Vacuum dissipation can be nearly turned off with proper mechanical frequency

Distinct behavior compared to Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions

Abstract

We consider a massless scalar field in 1+1 dimensions that satisfies a Robin boundary condition at a non-relativistic moving boundary. Using the perturbative approach introduced by Ford and Vilenkin, we compute the total force on the moving boundary. In contrast to what happens for the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions, in addition to a dissipative part, the force acquires also a dispersive one. Further, we also show that with an appropriate choice for the mechanical frequency of the moving boundary it is possible to turn off the vacuum dissipation almost completely.