Speaker
Description
Several experiments have been performed where cold atoms are being guided through hollow optical fibers. The potential acting on the atom comprises the repulsive potential from the light propagating within the fiber, and the Casimir-Polder potential induced by the vacuum fluctuations. Typically, the Casimir forces acting on atoms are approximated as ones with a flat surfaces — the so called Proximity Force Approximation (PFA). Here we investigate the influence of the surface curvature of the hollow dielectric medium on atoms within it. We present numerical calculations of Casimir-Polder energy for the atom in both a dielectric cylinder and a dielectric sphere. The calculations were performed within the Boundary Element Method (BEM) for concentric dielectric spheres, and coaxial dielectric cylinders. Then, the limit of rarefied dielectric was applied to the inner body which translates the Casimir energy into the interaction potential acting on a single atom within the hollow dielectric medium.
