title: Casimir interaction from magnetically coupled eddy currents.
abstract: We study the quantum and thermal fluctuations of eddy (Foucault) currents in thick metallic plates. A Casimir interaction between two plates arises from the coupling via quasistatic magnetic fields. As a function of distance, the relevant eddy current modes cross over from a quantum to a thermal regime. These modes alone reproduce previously discussed thermal anomalies of the electromagnetic Casimir interaction between good conductors. In particular, they provide a physical picture for the Casimir entropy whose nonzero value at zero temperature arises from a correlated, glassy state.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Intravaia
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Henkel