Casimir-Polder forces and their consequences ... (Dr. S. Buhmann)
- Date: Mar 23, 2016
- Time: 11:30 AM - 01:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Dr. Stefan Buhmann, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Physikalisches Institut, Freiburg
- Room: Herbert Walther Lecture Hall
- Host: MPQ, Theory Division
Casimir-Polder forces and their consequences: from matter-wave scattering in complex geometries to CP violation and quantum friction Casimir-Polder forces between a single atom and a macroscopic body are effective electromagnetic interactions that may be attributed to the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field.
I will introduce macroscopic quantum electrodynamics as a powerful tool
to study this force for arbitrary geometries. As examples, I will
consider a dielectric sphere and a grating, showing how the
position-dependent Casimir-Polder energy influences the scattering of
cold atomic matter waves. In the second part of my talk, I will
discuss two more exotic types of Casimir-Polder interaction. Firstly, I
will show how media violating the Lorentz reciprocity property give rise
to force which are sensitive to violations of charge-parity symmetry.
Secondly, I will discuss how atoms moving parallel to a smooth surface
may experience a quantum friction force.