Casimir effect and the quantum vacuum

@article{Jaffe2005CasimirEA,
  title={Casimir effect and the quantum vacuum},
  author={Robert L. Jaffe},
  journal={Physical Review D},
  year={2005},
  volume={72},
  pages={021301}
}
  • R. Jaffe
  • Published 21 March 2005
  • Physics
  • Physical Review D
In discussions of the cosmological constant, the Casimir effect is often invoked as decisive evidence that the zero-point energies of quantum fields are ''real.'' On the contrary, Casimir effects can be formulated and Casimir forces can be computed without reference to zero-point energies. They are relativistic, quantum forces between charges and currents. The Casimir force (per unit area) between parallel plates vanishes as {alpha}, the fine structure constant, goes to zero, and the standard… 
View PDF on arXiv
264 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
5
Background Citations
75
Methods Citations
10
Results Citations
5

Figures from this paper

264 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

The Casimir Effect and the Vacuum Energy: Duality in the Physical Interpretation
The Casimir effect is usually interpreted as arising from the modification of the zero point energy of QED when two perfectly conducting plates are put very close to each other, and as a proof of the…
Quantum Fluctuations, The Casimir Effect and The Historical Burden
It has been argued since 1948, when it was experimentally demonstrated, that the Casimir effect — where two non-charged conducting plates have a weak but measurable force on each other dependent on…
Exploration of the Quantum Casimir Effect
Abstract. Named after the Dutch Physicist Hendrik Casimir, The Casimir effect is a physical force that arises from fluctuations in electromagnetic field and explained by quantum field theory. The…
The Casimir-Effect: No Manifestation of Zero-Point Energy
The attractive force between metallic surfaces, predicted by Casimir in 1948, seems to indicate the physical existence and measurability of the quantized electromagnetic field's zero-point energy. It…
The Casimir-Effect: No Manifestation of Zero-Point Energy
The attractive force between metallic surfaces, predicted by Casimir in 1948, seems to indicate the physical existence and measurability of the quantized electromagnetic field’s zero-point energy. It…
From Casimir to Zel’dovich
The Casimir effect predicted in 1948 was not initially seen as relevant to cosmology. For a long time the cosmological constant and the quantum mechanics of the vacuum lived separate lives. The…
Casimir effect confronts cosmological constant
Nonperturbative Casimir Effects in Field Theories:aspects of confinement, dynamical mass generationand chiral symmetry breaking
The Casimir effect is a quantum phenomenon rooted in the fact that vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields are affected by the presence of physical objects and boundaries. Since the energy spectrum of…
Quantum fluctuations and the Casimir effect
The most important observable consequence of the vacuum fluctuations is the Casimir effect. Its classical manifestation is a force between two uncharged conductive plates placed a few nanometers…
ON THE PROBLEM OF VACUUM ENERGY IN FLRW UNIVERSES AND DARK ENERGY
We present a (hopefully) novel calculation of the vacuum energy in expanding FLRW spacetimes based on the renormalization of quantum field theory in nonzero backgrounds. We compute the renormalized…
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 65 REFERENCES
Casimir energies in light of quantum field theory
The Casimir Effect and Its Applications
The Casimir effect is analyzed. This effect consists of a polarization of the vacuum of quantized fields which arises as a result of a change in the spectrum of vacuum oscillations when the…
The Casimir Effect: Physical Manifestations of Zero-Point Energy
Zero-point fluctuations in quantum fields give rise to observable forces between material bodies, the so-called Casimir forces. In these lectures I present the theory of the Casimir effect, primarily…
The Dirichlet Casimir problem
New developments in the Casimir effect
QUANTUM ELECTROMAGNETIC ZERO-POINT ENERGY OF A CONDUCTING SPHERICAL SHELL AND THE CASIMIR MODEL FOR A CHARGED PARTICLE.
The quantum electromagnetic zero-point energy of a conducting spherical shell of radius $r$ has been computed to be $\ensuremath{\Delta}E(r)\ensuremath{\cong}\frac{0.09\ensuremath{\hbar}c}{2r}$. The…
Perturbative Casimir energies of dispersive spheres, cubes and cylinders
The quantum-electrodynamic binding energies B are determined perturbatively to order (nα)2 for single macroscopic bodies (quasi-continua mimicking atomic solids) having the dispersive dielectric…
Casimir effect in dielectrics
The Cosmological Constant and Dark Energy
Physics invites the idea that space contains energy whose gravitational effect approximates that of Einstein's cosmological constant, Lambda: nowadays the concept is termed dark energy or…
Saltatory relaxation of the cosmological constant
...
...