Heidelberg 2015 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 31: Poster: Quantum Optics and Photonics II

Q 31.51: Poster

Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 17:00–19:00, C/Foyer

Cherenkov friction on a neutral particle moving parallel to a dielectric — Gregor Pieplow and •Carsten Henkel — University of Potsdam, Germany

Based on a fully relativistic framework and the assumption of local equilibrium, we describe a simple mechanism of quantum friction for a particle moving parallel to a dielectric [1]. The Cherenkov effect explains how the bare ground state becomes globally unstable and how fluctuations of the electromagnetic field and the particle’s dipole are converted into pairs of excitations. Modelling the particle as a silver nano-sphere, we investigate the spectrum of the force and its velocity dependence. We find that the damping of the plasmon resonance in the silver particle has a relatively strong impact near the Cherenkov threshold velocity.

[1] G. Pieplow and C. Henkel, arXiv:1402.4518, to be published in J. Phys. Cond. Matt. (2015), special issue ‘Casimir physics’.