6 research outputs found
Nonequilibrium Forces Between Neutral Atoms Mediated by a Quantum Field
We study all known and as yet unknown forces between two neutral atoms,
modeled as three dimensional harmonic oscillators, arising from mutual
influences mediated by an electromagnetic field but not from their direct
interactions. We allow as dynamical variables the center of mass motion of the
atom, its internal degrees of freedom and the quantum field treated
relativistically. We adopt the method of nonequilibrium quantum field theory
which can provide a first principle, systematic and unified description
including the intrinsic field fluctuations and induced dipole fluctuations. The
inclusion of self-consistent back-actions makes possible a fully dynamical
description of these forces valid for general atom motion. In thermal
equilibrium we recover the known forces -- London, van der Waals and
Casimir-Polder forces -- between neutral atoms in the long-time limit but also
discover the existence of two new types of interatomic forces. The first, a
`nonequilibrium force', arises when the field and atoms are not in thermal
equilibrium, and the second, which we call an `entanglement force', originates
from the correlations of the internal degrees of freedom of entangled atoms.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure