Effect of Spatial Inhomogeneity on Quantum Trapping.

ABSTRACT: An object that is immersed in a fluid and approaching a substrate may find a potential energy minimum at a certain distance due to the balance between attractive and repulsive Casimir-Lifshitz forces, a phenomenon referred to as quantum trapping. This equilibrium depends on the relative values of the dielectric functions of the materials involved. Herein, we study quantum trapping effects in planar nanocomposite materials and demonstrate that they are strongly dependent on the characteristics of the spatial inhomogeneity. As a model case, we consider spherical particles embedded in an otherwise homogeneous material. We propose an effective medium approximation that accounts for the effect of inclusions and find that an unprecedented and counterintuitive intense repulsive Casimir-Lifshitz f

SUBMITTER: Esteso V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9150094 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature