Casimir friction between a small particle and a plane surface

Abstract

In this section, the friction force acting on a small neutral particle moving relative to a flat surface of a solid is considered in the framework of the fluctuation electrodynamic in non-relativistic and relativistic cases. The friction force in the particle–plate configuration is deduced from the friction force in the plate–plate configuration, assuming one of the plates to be sufficiently rarefied. The effect of the multiple scattering of the electromagnetic field between a particle and substrate is also studied. These effects can be important for physisorbed molecules. For physisorbed molecules, high-order processes, which are not included in the theory of Casimir friction, can dominate the damping rate of physisorbed molecules. The results of the theoretical calculations are compared with experimental data. The special case of Casimir friction force acting on a small neutral particle moving relative to the black-body radiation is also analyzed.