scholarly journals Perspective on Some Recent and Future Developments in Casimir Interactions

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 293
Author(s):  
Lilia M. Woods ◽  
Matthias Krüger ◽  
Victor V. Dodonov

Here, we present a critical review of recent developments in Casimir physics motivated by discoveries of novel materials. Specifically, topologically nontrivial properties of the graphene family, Chern and topological insulators, and Weyl semimetals have diverse manifestations in the distance dependence, presence of fundamental constants, magnitude, and sign of the Casimir interaction. Limited studies of the role of nonlinear optical properties in the interaction are also reviewed. We show that, since many new materials have greatly enhanced the nonlinear optical response, new efficient pathways for investigation of the characteristic regimes of the Casimir force need to be explored, which are expected to lead to new discoveries. Recent progress in the dynamical Casimir effect is also reviewed and we argue that nonlinear media can open up new directions in this field as well.

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (19) ◽  
pp. 1495-1506 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. OBOUSY ◽  
G. CLEAVER

One of the challenges in connecting higher dimensional theories to cosmology is stabilization of the moduli fields. We investigate the role of a Lorentz violating vector field in the context of stabilization. Specifically, we compute the one-loop Casimir energy in Randall–Sundrum five-dimensional (non-supersymmetric) S1/ Z2 orbifolds resulting from the interaction of a real scalar field with periodic boundary conditions with a Lorentz violating vector field. We find that the result is an enhanced attractive Casimir force. Hence, for stability, positive contributions to the Casimir force from branes and additional fields would be required to counter the destabilizing, attractive effect of Lorentz violating fields.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 208-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Sabín

We provide a recipe for the digitalization of linear and nonlinear quantum optics in networks of superconducting qubits. By combining digital techniques with boson-qubit mappings, we address relevant problems that are typically considered in analog simulators, such as the dynamical Casimir effect or molecular force fields, including nonlinearities. In this way, the benefits of digitalization are extended in principle to a new realm of physical problems. We present preliminary examples launched in IBM Q 5 Tenerife.


1980 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gosling

S. J. Tambiah has drawn attention to two recent developments in Thai Buddhism which strike him as having a particularly seminal significance. The first is ‘the new politico-economic role of monks themselves as promoters of government-sponsored community development programmes’. The characteristics of this aspect of Thai Buddhism have been charted into the early seventies at least, by Tambiah, Suksamran and Ruth-Inge Heinze.


Author(s):  
Avirup Sircar ◽  
Puneet Kumar Patra ◽  
Romesh C. Batra

We present a new methodology to incorporate the Casimir forces within the molecular dynamics (MD) framework. At atomistic scales, the potential energy between two particles arising due to the Casimir effect can be represented as U ( r ij ) =  C / r 7 . Incorporating the Casimir effect in MD simulations requires the knowledge of C , a problem hitherto unsolved. We overcome this by equating the total potential energy contributions due to each atomistic pair with the potential energy of continuum scale interacting bodies having similar geometries. After having identified the functional form of C , standard MD simulations are augmented with the potential energy contribution due to pairwise Casimir interactions. The developed framework is used to study effects of the Casimir force on the pull-in instability of rectangular and hollow cylindrical shaped deformable electrodes separated by a small distance from a fixed substrate electrode. Our MD results for pull-instability qualitatively agree with the previously reported analytical results but are quantitatively different. The effect of using longer-ranged Casimir forces in a constant temperature environment on the pull-in behaviour has also been studied.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 1019-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Woodhouse ◽  
Alyson Ashe

Gene regulatory information can be inherited between generations in a phenomenon termed transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI). While examples of TEI in many animals accumulate, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has proven particularly useful in investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon. In C. elegans and other animals, the modification of histone proteins has emerged as a potential carrier and effector of transgenerational epigenetic information. In this review, we explore the contribution of histone modifications to TEI in C. elegans. We describe the role of repressive histone marks, histone methyltransferases, and associated chromatin factors in heritable gene silencing, and discuss recent developments and unanswered questions in how these factors integrate with other known TEI mechanisms. We also review the transgenerational effects of the manipulation of histone modifications on germline health and longevity.


1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-83
Author(s):  
Nadeem A. Burney

Its been long recognized that various economies of the world are interlinked through international trade. The experience of the past several years, however, has demonstrated that this economic interdependence is far greater than was previously realized. In this context, the importance of international economic theory as an area distinct from general economics hardly needs any mentioning. What gives international economic theory this distinction is international markets for some goods and effects of national sovereignty on the character of economic activity. Wilfred Ethier's book, which incorporates recent developments in the field, is an excellent addition to textbooks on international economics for one- or twosemester undergraduate courses. The book mostly covers standard topics. A distinguishing feature of this book is its detailed analysis of the flexible exchange rates and a discussion of the various approaches used for their determination. Within each chapter, the author has extensively used facts, figures and major events to clarify the concepts in the light of the theoretical framework. The book also discusses, in a fair amount of detail, the existing international monetary system and the role of various international organizations.


Author(s):  
Emilios Avgouleas

This chapter offers a critical overview of the issues that the European Union 27 (EU-27) will face in the context of making proper use of financial innovation to further market integration and risk sharing in the internal financial market, both key objectives of the drive to build a Capital Markets Union. Among these is the paradigm shift signalled by a technological revolution in the realm of finance and payments, which combines advanced data analytics and cloud computing (so-called FinTech). The chapter begins with a critical analysis of financial innovation and FinTech. It then traces the EU market integration efforts and explains the restrictive path of recent developments. It considers FinTech's potential to aid EU market integration and debates the merits of regulation dealing with financial innovation in the context of building a capital markets union in EU-27.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-333
Author(s):  
Tobias Kelly

Abstract This short essay offers a broad and necessarily incomplete review of the current state of the human rights struggle against torture and ill-treatment. It sketches four widespread assumptions in that struggle: 1) that torture is an issue of detention and interrogation; 2) that political or security detainees are archetypal victims of torture; 3) that legal reform is one of the best ways to fight torture; and 4) that human rights monitoring helps to stamp out violence. These four assumptions have all played an important role in the history of the human rights fight against torture, but also resulted in limitations in terms of the interventions that are used, the forms of violence that human rights practitioners respond to, and the types of survivors they seek to protect. Taken together, these four assumptions have created challenges for the human rights community in confronting the multiple forms of torture rooted in the deep and widespread inequality experienced by many poor and marginalized groups. The essay ends by pointing to some emerging themes in the fight against torture, such as a focus on inequality, extra-custodial violence, and the role of corruption.


2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 179-199
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Entina ◽  
Alexander Pivovarenko

The article reflects on the issue of the foreign policy strategy of modern Russia in the Balkans region. One of the most significant aspects of this problem is the difference in views between Russia and the West. Authors show how different interpretations of the events in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s predetermined the sense of mutual suspicion and mistrust which spread to other regions such as the post-Soviet space. Exploring differences between the Russian and the Western (Euro-Atlantic) views on the current matters, authors draw attention to fundamental differences in terminology: while the Western narrative promotes more narrow geographical and political definitions (such as the Western Balkan Six), traditional Russian experts are more inclined to wider or integral definitions such as “the Balkans” and “Central and Southeast Europe”. Meanwhile none of these terms are applicable for analysis of the current trends such as the growing transit role of the Balkans region and its embedding in the European regional security architecture. Therefore, a new definition is needed to overcome the differences in vision and better understand significant recent developments in the region. Conceptualizing major foreign policy events in Central and Southeast Europe during the last three decades (the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s), authors demonstrate the significance of differences in tools and methods between the Soviet Union and the modern Russia. Permanent need for adaptation to changing political and security context led to inconsistence in Russian Balkan policy in the 1990s. Nevertheless, Russia was able to preserve an integral vision of the region and even to elaborate new transregional constructive projects, which in right political circumstances may promote stability and become beneficial for both Russia and the Euro-Atlantic community.


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