Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir forces

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2010.

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor principal: Rahi, Sahand Jamal
Outros Autores: Mehran Kardar and Robert L. Jaffe.
Formato: Tese
Idioma:eng
Publicado em: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2011
Assuntos:
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/62652
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author Rahi, Sahand Jamal
author2 Mehran Kardar and Robert L. Jaffe.
author_facet Mehran Kardar and Robert L. Jaffe.
Rahi, Sahand Jamal
author_sort Rahi, Sahand Jamal
collection MIT
description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2010.
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spelling mit-1721.1/626522019-04-10T09:11:20Z Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir forces Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir interactions Rahi, Sahand Jamal Mehran Kardar and Robert L. Jaffe. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics. Physics. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2010. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-123). We give a comprehensive presentation of methods for calculating the Casimir force to arbitrary accuracy, for any number of objects, arbitrary shapes, susceptibility functions, and separations. The technique is applicable to objects immersed in media other than vacuum, nonzero temperatures, and spatial arrangements in which one object is enclosed in another. Our method combines each object's classical electromagnetic scattering amplitude with universal translation matrices, which convert between the bases used to calculate scattering for each object, but are otherwise independent of the details of the individual objects. The method is illustrated by rederiving the Lifshitz formula for infinite half spaces, by demonstrating the Casimir-Polder to van der Waals cross-over, and by computing the Casimir interaction energy of two infinite, parallel, perfect metal cylinders either inside or outside one another. Furthermore, it is used to obtain recent results: the Casimir energies of i) a sphere or ii) a cylinder opposite a plate, all with finite permittivity and permeability, to leading order at large separation, iii) a parabolic cylinder opposite a plate, both representing perfect metal boundaries, and iv) a sphere or spheroid inside a cavity, where both the inside object and the cavity walls have realistic material properties. We also examine whether electrodynamic Casimir forces can lead to stable levitation. Neglecting permeabilities, we find that any equilibrium position of objects subject to such forces is unstable if the permittivities of all objects are higher or lower than that of the enveloping medium; the former being the generic case for ordinary materials in vacuum. by Sahand Jamal Rahi. Ph.D. 2011-05-09T15:14:41Z 2011-05-09T15:14:41Z 2010 2010 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/62652 713657882 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 123 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Physics.
Rahi, Sahand Jamal
Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir forces
title Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir forces
title_full Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir forces
title_fullStr Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir forces
title_full_unstemmed Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir forces
title_short Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir forces
title_sort scattering theory approach to electrodynamic casimir forces
topic Physics.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/62652
work_keys_str_mv AT rahisahandjamal scatteringtheoryapproachtoelectrodynamiccasimirforces
AT rahisahandjamal scatteringtheoryapproachtoelectrodynamiccasimirinteractions