Freiburg 2008 – scientific programme
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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik
T 22: Quantenfeldtheorie II
T 22.6: Talk
Friday, March 7, 2008, 15:15–15:30, KGI-HS 1016
Casimir effect at finite temperature for open geometries — •Alexej Weber1, Klaus Klingmuller2, and Holger Gies1 — 1Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Heidelberg — 2Institut für Theoretische Physik E, RWTH Aachen
We show that the temperature dependence of the Casimir force can be significantly larger for open geometries (e.g. perpendicular plates) than for closed geometries (e.g. parallel plates). This effect can be attributed to the fact that the fluctuation spectrum for closed geometries is gapped, inhibiting the thermal excitation of modes at low temperatures. By contrast, open geometries support a thermal excitation of the low-lying modes in the gapless spectrum already at low temperatures. We present numerical as well as analytical results for this nontrivial interplay between geometry and temperature using the worldline approach to quantum field theory.