Casimir-Polder force density between an atom and a conducting wall

Abstract

In this paper we calculate the Casimir -Polder force density (force per unit area acting on the elements of the surface) on a metallic plate placed in front of a neutral atom. To obtain the force density we use the quantum operator associated to the electromagnetic stress tensor. We explicitly show that the integral of this force density over the plate reproduces the total force acting on the plate. This result shows that, although the force is obtained as a sum of surface element -atom contributions, the stress -tensor method includes also nonadditive components of Casimir -Polder forces in the evaluation of the force acting on a macroscopic object.

Fluctuations of the Casimir-Polder force between an atom and a conducting wall

“…This Hamiltonian is correct up to order α ∼ e 2 , e being the electron charge. This effective Hamiltonian allows considerable simplification in the calculation of Casimir-Polder potentials, both in stational and dynamical cases [23,24,25]. The presence of the wall is taken into ac-count by considering a conducting cubic cavity defined by…”