Temperature dependence of the Casimir force

The Casimir force—at first, a rather unexpected consequence of quantum electrodynamics—was discovered by Hendrik Casimir in Eindhoven in 1948. It predicts that two uncharged metal plates experience an attractive force because of the zero-point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. The idea was tested experimentally in the 1950s and 1960s, but the results were not so accurate that one could make a definite conclusion regarding the existence of the effect. Evgeny Lifshitz expanded the theory in 1955 so as to deal with general dielectric media. Much experimental work was later done to test the theory's predictions, especially with regards to the temperature dependence of the effect. The existence of the effect itself was verified beyond doubt by Sabisky and Anderson in 1973. Another quarter century had to pass before Lamoreaux and collaborators were able to confirm—or at least make plausible—the temperature dependence predicted by Lifshitz formula in combination with reasonable input data for the material's dispersive properties. The situation is not yet clear-cut, however, there are recent experiments indicating results in disagreement with those of Lamoreaux. In this paper, a brief review is given of the status of this research field. (paper)