Casimir effect from macroscopic quantum electrodynamics
Abstract
The canonical quantization of macroscopic electromagnetism was recently presented in (Philbin 2010 New J. Phys. 12 123008). This theory is used here to derive the Casimir effect, by considering the special case of thermal and zero-point fields. The stress-energy-momentum tensor of the canonical theory follows from Noether's theorem, and its electromagnetic part in thermal equilibrium gives the Casimir energy density and stress tensor. The results hold for arbitrary inhomogeneous magnetodielectrics and are obtained from a rigorous quantization of electromagnetism in dispersive, dissipative media. Continuing doubts about the status of the standard Lifshitz theory as a proper quantum treatment of Casimir forces do not apply to the derivation given here. Moreover, the correct expressions for the Casimir energy density and stress tensor inside media follow automatically from the simple restriction to thermal equilibrium, without the need for complicated thermodynamical or mechanical arguments.
Citation
Philbin , T G 2011 , ' Casimir effect from macroscopic quantum electrodynamics ' , New Journal of Physics , vol. 13 , 063026 . https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/13/6/063026
Publication
New Journal of Physics
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1367-2630Type
Journal article
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