Applied Casimir Theory: from Mesons to Environmental Effects

Aim and objective: The principal challenge addressed in the ACT:MEE project is the development of theories for the Casimir effect in plasma and magnetic media, along with their varied applications. A pivotal element of this endeavor is the creation of a new semiclassical theory focusing on the lifespan of electron-positron plasmons and electron (positron) bonds with plasmons. This research directly paves the way for the formulation of a semiclassical theory for mesons and nuclear forces. The project encompasses several ancillary studies, revisiting the role of Bose-Einstein condensation in astrophysics and probing further into excited state resonance interactions, particularly in plasma contexts. In a previous FRINATEK project in Norway, which concluded in 2019, the Principal Investigator (PI) established an international collaboration focused on gas hydrates and ice formation. The PI will continue to guide research in this domain, but will primarily concentrate on fundamental issues related to the Casimir effect in plasma magnetic fluids. This includes exploring anisotropy, meson theory, and excited state interactions. Collaboration with the mentor and two PhD students will be pivotal in addressing these challenges. While the achievement of the primary objectives is feasible independently, international collaboration, especially with eminent researchers like Prof. Emeritus Barry Ninham from the Australian National University, can accelerate progress and amplify the impact of the findings.

International environment: The primary international collaborators in this project are Prof Emeritus Barry W. Ninham from ANU, Australia, and Prof. Emeritus Iver Brevik from NTNU, Norway. Ninham, who established the Applied Mathematics Department at ANU in the early 70s, has a distinguished career collaborating on various research topics, including specific ion effects, excited state interactions between molecules, and meson interactions, resulting in three publications (one currently in press). Ninham's contributions in the field have led to numerous invitations as a visiting Professor/National Chair globally, in countries like Sweden, Germany, Italy, among others. He has also been a contender for the Nobel Prize on two occasions, notably for his collaboration with Adrian Parsegian and Jacob Israelachvili on semiclassical theory and experiments on intermolecular forces. Prof. Brevik is renowned for his dedication to science and is recognized for his prolific publication record, contributing significantly to his department. The collaboration with these two esteemed professors also includes working on a book manuscript. Additionally, the project will continue various research collaborations with researchers from Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Germany, China, and the USA. These international contacts are set to be further strengthened through the exchange of researchers and regular video meetings, facilitating a robust global network of scientific collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Local environment: The project will be conducted at the Ensemble3 Center of Excellence in Poland, with Dr. Oleksandr Malyi, leader of the Inverse Materials Design group, serving as the mentor. The project team will benefit from strong support within the center and close collaboration with the Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw.

Contact details: We are always interested in exploring collaborative projects within our expertise. We would love to hear from you if you want to join forces to create something remarkable or generally discuss science. Reach out to us by email: mathias.bostrom‬@ensemble3.eu (PI: Dr. Mathias Boström‬) and oleksandrmalyi@gmail.com (mentor: Dr. Oleksandr I. Malyi).

Team members

  • Dr. Mathias Boström

    Principal Investigator

    Ensemble3 Center of Excellence

    Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw

  • John Joseph Marchetta

    Research assistant/PHD student

    Ensemble3 Center of Excellence

  • Subhojit Pal

    Research Assistant

    Ensemble3 Center of Excellence

  • Ayda Gholamhosseinian

    External collaborating student

    Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

  • Prof. Silvio Osella

    External collaborator - incoming university advisor for PHD students

    Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw

  • Dr. Oleksandr I. Malyi

    MENTOR of the project

Publications:

1. A. Yadav, M. Boström, O. I. Malyi, Understanding of dielectric properties of cellulose, Cellulose, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-024-05754-7 [the work on the paper in the year 2024 was made within the Polonez Bis MSCA project].

2. M. Boström, A. Gholamhosseinian, S. Pal, Y. Li, I. Brevik, Semi-classical electrodynamics and the Casimir effect, Physics 2024, 6, 456–467. https://doi.org/10.3390/physics6010030 (Special issue. It will potentially also be published in a book). [Revisions were made within the Polonez bis MSCA project].

3. I. Brevik, S. Pal, Y. Li, A. Gholamhosseinian, and M. Boström, Axion Electrodynamics and the Casimir Effect, Physics 2024, 6, 407–421. https://doi.org/10.3390/physics6010027 (Special issue. It will potentially also be published in a book). [Revisions were made within the Polonez bis MSCA project].

4. M. Boström, S. Pal, H. R. Gopidi, S. Osella, A. Gholamhosseinian, G. Palsantzas, and O. I. Malyi, Inverse design for Casimir-Lifshitz force near heterogeneous gapped metal surface, submitted (2024). https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.09031

This research is part of project No. 2022/47/P/ST3/01236 co-funded by the National Science Centre and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 945339.

Course of lectures on quantum fluctuations

Course content

  • Maxwell equations for macroscopic electrodynamics

  • Separation of electric and magnetic modes

  • Action and Lagrangian for macroscopic electrodynamics

  • Quantum vacuum energy

  • Green's function, Green's dyadic

  • Multiple scattering formalism, Stress tensor method

  • Lifshitz energy

  • Elbaum-Schick systems

Attendance list: Mathias Boström, Iver Brevik, Prachi Parashar, K. V. Shajesh, Subhojit Pal, John Joseph Marchetta, Niranjan Warnakulasooriya, Venkat Abhignan, and Aryan Illiat.

Lecture 1: Kramers-Kronig relation for response functions, Feb. 10, 2024

Presenter: Prof. K. V. Shajesh

Southern Illinois University--Carbondale, USA

Meeting notes

Lecture content

  • Contents of first ten equations in emthin.

  • Examples, like Drude model, plasma model, and Drude-Lorentz model, were not discussed in detail.

Discussion

  • In axion electrodynamics, the electric (magnetic) polarization gets a response from the magnetic (electric) field. The implications of the causal nature of this response should be investigated. Look up literature.

Lecture 2: Correlation function, Feb. 17, 2024

Presenter: Prof. K. V. Shajesh

Southern Illinois University--Carbondale, USA

Meeting notes

Lecture content

  • Schwinger's quantum action principle

  • Correlations are described by Green's function

  • Zero-dimension example: Harmonic oscillator forced by a noise (not satisfactorily completed)

Discussion

  • The divergences in the single-body Casimir energy of a dielectric ball are known to cancel out for mediums εμ=1. Could this feature be derived as a generic statement at the formalism level for an arbitrary single body?

  • Use our ideas in arXiv:1709.06284 and arXiv:2105.05507 to evaluate conclusions similar to those by Barrow in arXiv:2004.09444. For example, can we derive the horizon radius of a blackhole constructed out of self-similar concentric spheres?

Lecture 3: Maxwell equations, Feb. 24, 2024

Presenter: Prof. K. V. Shajesh

Southern Illinois University--Carbondale, USA

Meeting notes

Lecture content

  • Maxwell equations

  • Lagrangian for macroscopic electrodynamics

  • Dielectric function is Hermitian

Discussion

  • What is the physical interpretation of the external Polarization source?

  • Are fluctuations in polarization sources or the fluctuations in the fields the origins of zero point energy?

  • How is the dielectric function being Hermitian compatible with Kramers-Kronig relation? The hermitianity requires the principal dielectric components to be real. Thus, it does not allow dissipation. However, we will assume a small amount of dissipation to accommodate causality. This will then lead to a fluctuation-dissipation theorem.

Project number: 2022/47/P/ST3/01236 within Polonez Bis III NCN call

Project budget: 1,072,295 PLN (around 260,000 USD)

Project duration: 01.01.2024-31.12.2025

Host institution: Ensemble3 Centre of Excellence