Two new scenarios for quantum friction: chiral media and rotating molecules
In the first scenario, we study the quantum friction experienced by a polarizable charged particle moving with parallel motion to a chiral medium-vacuum interface. We employ macroscopic quantum electrodynamics 1,2 to obtain the Casimir–Polder frequency shift and decay rate. These results are a generalization of the respective quantities to matter being insensitive to parity2. By examining the non-retarded and retarded limits we find that the an effective optical rotatory strength is relevant for a non-vanishing frequency shift and decay rate. For the second scenario, we investigate the rotational motion of diatomic molecules in free space interacting with the quantum electromagnetic field3. Using macroscopic quantum electrodynamics2 we obtain the rotation-dependent decay rates of the molecule. By analyzing the behavior of the resulting rates at zero and finite temperature, we find a connection between the decelerating rotational dynamics and quantum friction.
1 Stefan Yoshi Buhmann, David T. Butcher and Stefan Scheel. New Journal of Physics 14, 083034 (2012).
2 S. Y. Buhmann. Dispersion Forces II. Many-Body Effects, Excited Atoms, Finite Temperature and Quantum Friction. (Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 2012).
3 Stefan Yoshi Buhmann, M. R. Tarbutt, Stefan Scheel, and E. A. Hinds, Phys. Rev. A 78, 052901 (2008).