Dynamical casimir effect: Some theoretical aspects

Abstract

This is a brief description of some recent achievements in the theory of dynamical Casimir effect, mainly in connection with the experiment which is under preparation in the University of Padua. The first part of this paper is devoted to the theory of quantum damped oscillator with arbitrary time dependence of the frequency and damping coefficient. New results for the mean number of created photons, its variance and photon distribution function are given. The second part is devoted to calculations of the time-dependent shift of resonance frequency of an electromagnetic cavity due to strong variations of dielectric properties in a thin layer near an ideally conducting wall. A simple analytical formula for this shift is derived. It generalizes the known Schwinger-Bethe-Casimir result. The influence of different parameters on the photon generation rate is discussed. A brief review of recent publications on the subject is also included. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.