C. Romero

Violation of the Nernst heat theorem in the theory of the thermal Casimir force between Drude metals

We give a rigorous analytical derivation of low-temperature behavior of the Casimir entropy in the framework of the Lifshitz formula combined with the Drude dielectric function. An earlier result that the Casimir entropy at zero temperature is not equal to zero and depends on the parameters of the system is confirmed, i.e., the third law of thermodynamics (the Nernst heat theorem) is violated. We illustrate the resolution of this thermodynamical puzzle in the context of the surface impedance approach by several calculations of the thermal Casimir force and entropy for both real metals and dielectrics. Different representations for the impedances, which are equivalent for real photons, are discussed. Finally, we argue in favor of the Leontovich boundary condition which leads to results for the thermal Casimir force that are consistent with thermodynamics.

Advance and prospects in constraining the Yukawa-type corrections to Newtonian gravity from the Casimir effect

We report stronger constraints on the parameters of Yukawa-type corrections to Newtonian gravity from measurements of the lateral Casimir force between sinusoidally corrugated surfaces of a sphere and a plate. In the interaction range from 1.6 to 14 nm the strengthening of previously known high confidence constraints up to a factor of

From Brans-Dicke gravity to a geometrical scalar-tensor theory

2.4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{7}

Present status of controversies regarding the thermal Casimir force

is achieved using these measurements. It is shown that the replacement of a plane plate with a corrugated one in the measurements of the normal Casimir force by means of an atomic force microscope would result in the strengthening of respective high confidence constraints on the Yukawa-type interaction by a factor of

Thermal correction to the Casimir force, radiative heat transfer, and an experiment

1.1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{12}

Surface impedance and the Casimir force

. The use of a corrugated plate instead of a plane plate in the experiment by means of a micromachined oscillator also leads to strengthening of the obtained constraints. We further obtain constraints on the parameters of Yukawa-type interaction from the data of experiments measuring the gradient of the Casimir pressure between two parallel plates and the gradient of the Casimir-Polder force between an atom and a plate. The obtained results are compared with the previously known constraints. The possibilities of how to further strengthen the constraints on non-Newtonian gravity are discussed.

Comment on 'Temperature dependence of the Casimir effect'

We consider an approach to the Brans-Dicke theory of gravity in which the scalar field has a geometrical nature. By postulating the Palatini variation, we find out that the role played by the scalar field consists in turning the space-time geometry into a Weyl integrable manifold. This procedure leads to a scalar-tensor theory that differs from the original Brans-Dicke theory in many aspects and presents some new features.

Constraints on non-Newtonian gravity from measuring the Casimir force in a configuration with nanoscale rectangular corrugations

It is well known that, beginning in 2000, the behavior of the thermal correction to the Casimir force between real metals has been hotly debated. As was shown by several research groups, the Lifshitz theory, which provides the theoretical foundation for the calculation of both the van der Waals and Casimir forces, leads to different results depending on the model of metal conductivity used. To resolve these controversies, the theoretical considerations based on the principles of thermodynamics and new experimental tests were invoked. We analyze the present status of the problem (in particular, the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches based on the surface impedance and on the Drude model dielectric function) using rigorous analytical calculations of the entropy of a fluctuating field. We also discuss the results of a new precise experiment on the determination of the Casimir pressure between two parallel plates by means of a micromechanical torsional oscillator.

Lifshitz theory of atom-wall interaction with applications to quantum reflection

The low-temperature asymptotic expressions for the Casimir interaction between two real metals described by the Leontovich surface impedance are obtained in the framework of thermal quantum field theory. It is shown that the Casimir entropy computed using the impedance of infrared optics vanishes in the limit of zero temperature. By contrast, the Casimir entropy computed using the impedance of the Drude model attains at zero temperature a positive value, which depends on the parameters of a system, i.e., the Nernst heat theorem is violated. Thus, the impedance of infrared optics withstands the thermodynamic test, whereas the impedance of the Drude model does not. We also perform a phenomenological analysis of the thermal Casimir force and of the radiative heat transfer through a vacuum gap between real metal plates. The characterization of a metal by means of the Leontovich impedance of the Drude model is shown to be inconsistent with experiment at separations of a few hundred nanometers. A modification of the impedance of infrared optics is suggested taking into account relaxation processes. The power of radiative heat transfer predicted from this impedance is several times less than previous predictions, due to different contributions from the transverse electric evanescent waves. The physical meaning of low frequencies in the Lifshitz formula is discussed. It is concluded that new measurements of radiative heat transfer are required to find the adequate description of a metal in the theory of electromagnetic fluctuations.

Thermal Casimir effect for neutrino and electromagnetic fields in the closed Friedmann cosmological model

The impedance boundary condition is used to calculate the Casimir force in configurations of two parallel plates and a shpere (spherical lens) above a plate at both zero and nonzero temperature. The impedance approach allows one to find the Casimir force between the realistic test bodies regardless of the electromagnetic fluctuations inside the media. Although this approach is an approximate one, it has wider areas of application than the Lifshitz theory of the Casimir force. The general formulas of the impedance approach to the theory of the Casimir force are given and the formal substitution is found for connecting it with the Lifshitz formula. The range of micrometer separations between the test bodies which is interesting from the experimental point of view is investigated in detail. It is shown that at zero temperature the results obtained on the basis of the surface impedance method are in agreement with those obtained in framework of the Lifshitz theory within a fraction of a percent. The temperature correction to the Casimir force from the impedance method coincides with that from the Lifshitz theory up to four significant figures. The case of millimeter separations which corresponds to the normal skin effect is also considered. At zero temperature the obtained results have good agreement with the Lifshitz theory. At nonzero temperature the impedance approach is not subject to the interpretation problems peculiar to the zero-frequency term of the Lifshitz formula in dissipative media.