Vladimir M. Mostepanenko

Department of Astrophysics, Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory of the
Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia
and
Institute of Physics, Nanotechnology and Telecommunications, Peter the
Great
Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Problems in the Lifshitz theory of dispersion forces

Abstract:
The Lishitz theory describes the van der Waals and Casimir forces which arise between two closely spaced material bodies due to the zero-point and thermal fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. A lot of precise measurements of the Casimir force performed during the last two decades revealed a puzzle. The theoretical predictions have been found in agreement with the measurement data only under a condition that in computations one disregards the relaxation properties of conduction electrons for metals and the dc conductivity for dielectrics. On the theoretical side it was found that if both these effects are included, one arrives to contradictions with thermodynamics. Possible resolution of this puzzle is discussed.

TU Wien, Freihaus HS 7, Wiedner Hauptstr. 8-10, 2nd floor, 1040 Wien