In odd-dimensional spaces, gauge invariance permits a Chern-Simons mass term for the gauge fields in addition to the usual Maxwell-Yang-Mills kinetic energy term. We study the Casimir effect in such a (2+1)-dimensional Abelian theory. For the case of parallel conducting lines the result is the same as for a scalar field. For the case of circular boundary conditions the results are completely di...

A complete thermodynamic treatment of the Casimir effect is presented. Explicit expressions for the free and the internal energy, the entropy and the pressure are discussed. As an example we consider the Casimir effect with different temperatures between the plates (T) resp. outside of them (T ′). For T ′ < T the pressure of heat radiation can eventually compensate the Casimir force and the tot...

We discuss a numerical relation between the cosmological constant Λ [1] and the vacuum energy arising from the Casimir effect [2]. Many recent theories of the elementary particles invoke the existence of extra dimensions, beyond the familiar 4-dimensional space-time manifold. Often these extra dimensions are compact and have a finite range. In a particular model [3] the range R is of the order ...

The dynamical Casimir effect for the ideal case of two perfectly conducting non-charged parallel plates, is discussed using the zero-point energy summation method to the first order in perturbation theory. We show that it is possible to create photon radiation when the two plates are modulated rapidly in time. Moreover we point out that the static Casimir energy between two conducting non-charg...

We find the combined effect of nonzero temperature and finite conductivity onto the Casimir force between real metals. Configurations of two parallel plates and a sphere (lens) above a plate are considered. Perturbation theory in two parameters (the relative temperature and the relative penetration depth of zero-point oscillations into the metal) is developed. Perturbative results are compared ...

We consider the Nambu and Hamiltonian representations of RayleighBénard convection with a nonlinear thermal heating effect proportional to the Eckert number (Ec). The model we use is an extension of the classical Lorenz63 model with 4 kinematic and 6 thermal degrees of freedom. The conservative parts of the dynamical equations which include all nonlinearities satisfy Liouville’s theorem and per...

Quantummechanical fluctuations in an interval give rise to the Casimir effect, which destabilizes the size of the interval. This can be problematic in constructing Kaluza-Klein theories. We consider the possibility that a breakdown of the Poincaré symmetry in an extra dimension can solve this instability problem. As a specific example, we consider the space-time with a κ-deformed Poincaré algeb...

In the final few years of his life, Julian Schwinger proposed that the “dynamical Casimir effect” might provide the driving force behind the puzzling phenomenon of sonoluminescence. Motivated by that exciting suggestion, we have computed the static Casimir energy of a spherical cavity in an otherwise uniform material. As expected the result is divergent; yet a plausible finite answer is extract...

High temperature superconductors have in common that they consist of parallel planes of copper oxide separated by layers whose composition can vary. Being ceramics, the cuprate superconductors are poor conductors above the transition temperature, Tc. Below Tc, the parallel Cu-O planes in those materials become superconducting while the layers in between stay poor conductors. Here, we ask to wha...