Dynamical Casimir effect meets material science

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze attempts to observe the so called Dynamical Casimir effect in cavities, changing their optical lengths by means of fast time variations of material properties (dielectric permeability or conductivity) of thin slabs attached to the cavity walls. The emphasis is made on the case of semiconductor slabs excited by short laser pulses. Considering the evolution of the classical electromagnetic field in this case, an approximate analytical solution for an infinite set of coupled ordinary differential equations for the mode amplitudes is derived under certain simplifying assumptions. According to this solution, an amplification of the initial field can be made, provided the induced dielectric permeability can become negative with a large absolute value. Evaluations of the feasibility of such a scenario are given.