Van der waals-casimir-polder interaction of an atom with a composite surface
- We study the dispersion interaction of the van der Waals and Casimir-Polder (vdW-CP) type between a neutral atom and the surface of a conductor by allowing for nonlocal electrodynamics, i.e. electron diffusion. We consider two models: (i) bulk diffusion, and (ii) diffusion in a surface charge layer. In both cases, we find that the transition to a semiconductor as a function of the conductivity is continuous, unlike the case of a local model. The relevant parameter is the electric screening length and depends on the carrier diffusion constant. We find that for distances comparable to the screening length, vdW-CP data can distinguish between bulk and surface diffusion, hence it can be a sensitive probe for surface states.
Author details: | E. Eizner, Baruch HorovitzORCiD, Carsten HenkelORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2012-30294-x |
ISSN: | 1434-6060 |
Title of parent work (English): | The European physical journal : D, Atomic, molecular, optical and plasma physics |
Publisher: | Springer |
Place of publishing: | New York |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of first publication: | 2012 |
Publication year: | 2012 |
Release date: | 2017/03/26 |
Volume: | 66 |
Issue: | 12 |
Number of pages: | 11 |
Funding institution: | German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF) |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie |
Peer review: | Referiert |