Van der Waals Interaction in Planar Structures

Abstract

After a section in which we adapt the general formalism presented in Chap. 7 to planar structures in neglect of retardation we start by introducing the basic structure elements: a single interface, a layer, a 2D film, and a thin diluted gas film. A general planar structure can then be constructed by stacking these elements side by side. The thin gas layer is special; it is used to find the interaction on an atom at a general position in the planar structure. Then we go through some common structures and present illustrating examples; the examples involve gold half spaces, gold slabs, graphene, 2D metal films and lithium atoms. Then we discuss alternative ways to find the normal modes in a planar structure. Next we rederive the van der Waals interaction between two atoms from using the summation over pair interactions. We end with a section on spatial dispersion.