Optical-approximation analysis of sidewall-spacing effects on the force between two squares with parallel sidewalls
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)
- Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)
- Center for Theoretical Physics and Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)
Using the ray-optics approximation, we analyze the Casimir force in a two-dimensional domain formed by two metallic blocks adjacent to parallel metallic sidewalls, which are separated from the blocks by a finite distance h. For h>0, the ray-optics approach is not exact because diffraction effects are neglected. Nevertheless, we show that ray optics is able to qualitatively reproduce a surprising effect recently identified in an exact numerical calculation: the force between the blocks varies nonmonotonically with h. In this sense, the ray-optics approach captures an essential part of the physics of multibody interactions in this system, unlike simpler pairwise-interaction approximations such as proximity force approximations (PFA). Furthermore, by comparison to the exact numerical results, we are able to quantify the impact of diffraction on Casimir forces in this geometry.
- OSTI ID:
- 21140709
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. A, Vol. 76, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.76.063816; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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