Abstract
By relating the van der Waals dispersion interaction between two neutral polarizable particles to a field correlation function, we show that the interaction is modified by applied electromagnetic fields. The modified interaction, which has a simple physical interpretation, can vary as rather than if the applied field is nearly unidirectional. Approximate numerical estimates indicate that the effect is very small for static or low-frequency fields, but that it might be significant, particularly in cold traps, when the frequency of a quasimonochromatic applied field is near a strong absorption line. © 1996 The American Physical Society.
- Received 18 September 1995
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.53.3484
©1996 American Physical Society