A quantum top in a Casimir-induced quadrupole field

The Casimir energy is the change in energy of a configuration of objects due to second quantization of the electromagnetic field. The Casimir energy of a dielectric object inside a perfectly conducting sphere was recently analyzed [1]. Building on this result, I calculate the changes in energy levels of a quantum top inside a cavity after promoting the Casimir energy to a quantum Hamiltonian. I apply the result to a diatomic molecule and find the changes in the spectroscopy induced by the Casimir effect. This can potentially provide an additional experimental probe into the Casimir effect.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Fitzgerald, Eric Andrew Vitus

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Robert L. Jaffe.

• Physics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68881

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/68881