Berlin 2014 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 30: Poster: Photonics, laser development and applications, ultrashort laser pulses, quantum effects

Q 30.66: Poster

Dienstag, 18. März 2014, 16:30–18:30, Spree-Palais

On the fluctuations of the Casimir-Polder force — •Oliver Urban, Stefan Scheel, and Johannes Fiedler — Universität Rostock

One particular consequence of quantum vacuum fluctuation of the electromagnetic field is the Casimir-Polder interaction, which occurs between polarisable particles near a magnetodielectric medium. The existence of this force has been predicted as early as 1948 [1], with the first experimental demonstration using sodium atoms in 1993 [2]. Casimir-Polder forces can be viewed as quantum averages of the quantum Lorentz force [3]. By the fact that this interaction is generated by vacuum fluctuations, the associated force itself fluctuates, so it can be decomposed into an average and a fluctuating component. With a view towards applications of Casimir-Polder potentials as part of a trapping potential for ultracold atoms close to surfaces, such fluctuations could lead to heating and trap loss. We present the first steps towards an understanding of these higher-order fluctuations of the quantized electromagnetic field [4,5].

[1] H.B.G. Casimir and D. Polder, Phys. Rev. 73, 360 (1948).

[2] C. I. Sukenik et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 560 (1993).

[3] S. Y. Buhmann et al., Phys. Rev. A 70, 052117 (2004).

[4] R. Messina, R. Passante, Phys. Rev. A 76, 032107 (2007).

[5] C.- H. Wu et al., Phys. Rev. A. 65, 062102 (2002).