https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2015-50898-8
Regular Article
Fluctuations of the Casimir potential above a disordered medium
Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC-Sorbonne Universités, CNRS,
ENS-PSL Research University, Collège de France, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005
Paris,
France
a
e-mail: cherroret@lkb.upmc.fr
Received: 19 December 2014
Received in final form: 10 February 2015
Published online: 7 April 2015
We develop a general approach to study the statistical fluctuations of the Casimir potential felt by an atom approaching a dielectric disordered medium. Starting from a microscopic model for the disorder, we calculate the variance of potential fluctuations in the limit of a weak density of heterogeneities. We show that fluctuations are essentially governed by scattering of the radiation on a single heterogeneity, and that they become larger than the average value predicted by effective medium theory at short distances. Finally, for denser disorder we show that multiple scattering processes become relevant.
Key words: Quantum Optics
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2015