http://cds.cern.ch/record/503806/files/0106045.pdf

New developments in the Casimir effect

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00004659/document

Surface electromagnetic waves thermally excited: Radiative heat transfer, coherence properties and Casimir forces revisited in the near field

▪ Abstract We review recent experimental tests of the gravitational inverse-square law and the wide variety of theoretical considerations that suggest the law may break down in experimentally accessible regions.

Tests of the gravitational inverse-square law

The physical origin of the Casimir force is connected with the existence of zero-point and thermal fluctuations. The Casimir effect is very general and finds applications in various fields of physics. This review is limited to the rapid progress at the intersection of experiment and theory that has been achieved in the last few years. It includes a critical assessment of the proposed approaches to the resolution of the puzzles arising in the applications of the Lifshitz theory of the van der Waals and Casimir forces to real materials. All the primary experiments on the measurement of the Casimir force between macroscopic bodies and the Casimir-Polder force between an atom and a wall that have been performed in the last decade are reviewed, including the theory needed for their interpretation. The methodology for the comparison between experiment and theory in the force-distance measurements is presented. The experimental and theoretical results described here provide a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of dispersion forces in real materials and offer guidance for the application of the Lifshitz theory to the interpretation of the measurement results.

The Casimir force between real materials: Experiment and theory

http://www.icranet.org/misc/Scientific_Report_2009/Reports/08Xue_b.pdf

Electron-positron pairs in physics and astrophysics: from heavy nuclei to black holes

A precision measurement of the Casimir force using metallic gold surfaces is reported. The force is measured between a large gold-coated sphere and flat plate using an atomic force microscope. The use of gold surfaces removes some theoretical uncertainties in the interpretation of the measurement. The forces are also measured at smaller surface separations. The complete dielectric spectrum of the metal is used in the comparison of theory to the experiment. The average statistical precision remains at the same 1% of the forces measured at the closest separation. These results should lead to the development of stronger constraints on hypothetical forces.

B. W. Harris

Papers

Precision measurement of the Casimir force using gold surfaces