https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-08465-y
Regular Article – Theoretical Physics
An alternative response to the off-shell quantum fluctuations: a step forward in resolution of the Casimir puzzle
1
Central Astronomical Observatory at Pulkovo of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 196140, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2
Institute of Physics, Nanotechnology and Telecommunications, Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University, 195251, Saint Petersburg, Russia
3
Kazan Federal University, 420008, Kazan, Russia
Received:
13
August
2020
Accepted:
10
September
2020
Published online:
29
September
2020
The spatially nonlocal response functions are proposed which nearly coincide with the commonly used local response for electromagnetic fields and fluctuations on the mass shell, but differ significantly for the off-shell fluctuating field. It is shown that the fundamental Lifshitz theory using the suggested response functions comes to an agreement with the measurement data for the Casimir force without neglecting the dissipation of free electrons. We demonstrate that reflectances of the on-shell electromagnetic waves calculated using the nonlocal and commonly employed local responses differ only slightly. The Kramers–Kronig relations for nonlocal response functions possessing the first- and second-order poles at zero frequency are derived, i.e., the proposed response satisfies the principle of causality. An application of these results to resolution of the Casimir puzzle, which lies in the fact that the Lifshitz theory is experimentally consistent only with discarded dissipation, is discussed.
© The Author(s) 2020
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