Fluctuations of fluctuation-induced casimir-like forces.
The force experienced by objects embedded in a correlated medium undergoing thermal fluctuations-the so-called fluctuation-induced force-is actually itself a fluctuating quantity. Using a scalar field model, we compute the corresponding probability distribution and show that it is a Gaussian centered on the well-known Casimir force, with a nonuniversal standard deviation that can be typically as large as the mean force itself. The relevance of these results to the experimental measurement of fluctuation-induced forces in soft condensed matter is discussed, as well as the influence of the finite temporal resolution of the measuring apparatus.
Bartolo
Denis
D
Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théorique, UMR CNRS 7083, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, F-75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Ajdari
Armand
A
Fournier
Jean-Baptiste
JB
Golestanian
Ramin
R