Mainz 2017 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 3: Quantum Effects: QED I

Q 3.4: Talk

Monday, March 6, 2017, 15:15–15:30, P 4

Relevance of non-equilibrium effects for dispersion forces — •Francesco Intravaia — Max-Born-Institut, 12489 Berlin, Germany

Non-equilibrium systems are omnipresent and in recent years they have attracted a constantly growing attention due to their relevance for fundamental physics as well as for modern nanotechnology. Progress in manipulating atomic and condensed matter systems has stimulated the investigation of a particular class of non-equilibrium phenomena, which is represented by dynamical dispersion forces. These forces, whose origin is deeply rooted in quantum theory, are at the origin of contactless quantum friction between two objects moving with constant velocity relative to each other. Unfortunately, the detailed quantitative description of non-equilibrium systems is rather challenging and the most common approaches rely on the assumption that corrections to the associated equilibrium characteristics are relatively small. We show that this assumption fails for quantum friction and underestimates by approximately 80% the magnitude of the drag force [1]. Our results show that the correlations among the components of driven but steady-state quantum systems invalidate the so-called local thermal equilibrium approximation, also calling for a critical reexamination of this approach for describing the physics of non-equilibrium systems.
[1] F. Intravaia, R. O. Behunin, C. Henkel, K. Busch, and D. A. R. Dalvit, Failure of local thermal equilibrium in quantum friction, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 100402 (2016).