Inhomogeneity-related cutoff dependence of the Casimir energy and stress

• The Casimir stress and energy density are widely used to study the Casimir force, but they diverge in inhomogeneous systems, making the force seem to be infinite as well. Here we characterize the asymptotic behavior of the Casimir stress and energy density in inhomogeneous systems. We show an unambiguous map of all cutoff-dependent terms in the asymptotic expansion to the pressure and the surface tension through the insertion of multiple boundary layers. This result reveals an elegant subtraction to retrieve a finite stress that yields a cutoff-independent force.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Atom- och molekylfysik och optik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)