Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-85). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-85). Also available on the Internet.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Northeastern University, 2008. / Title from title page (viewed May 27, 2009). Graduate School of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-140).

We study the time evolution of light fields inside a double cavity which is comprised of two perfect end mirrors and a parametrically driven, partially transmissive central mirror in both a classical and a quantum mechanical framework. It is common practise in the field of optomechanics to take a Hamiltonian approach \cite{aspelmeyer2014cavity} ignoring non-linear coupling terms between the light field and the moving mechanical element. By contrast, we start from the Maxwell wave equation which is second order in time and find that a first order in time Schr\"{o}dinger-type wave equation (equivalent to neglecting the non-linear coupling) is a valid approximation for low enough mirror reflectivity and speed and for large light frequencies. We also study adiabatic dynamics for the Maxwell wave equation and find it differs from the more familiar adiabaticity in the Schr\"{o}dinger equation. Next, we numerically simulate the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) in the double cavity with a sinusoidally driven central mirror following earlier numerical work on the perfect single cavity \cite{Ruser2006NumericalDCE,ruser2005vibrating,naylor2009dynamical}. Because our central mirror is partially transmissive it is physically more realistic and circumvents fundamental problems associated with having perfectly reflecting moving mirrors \cite{Moore1970DCESingleCavity,barton1993quantum}. The corresponding photon creation rates are drastically lower when compared to the perfectly reflective mirror case. Furthermore, if we make one of the cavities much longer than the other we can simulate the DCE for a single open cavity coupled to an environment without having to make the Markov approximation. The resultant asymmetric double cavity (ADC) model is valid for times short enough that only a negligible number of the photons that has leaked out of the open cavity has sloshed back in again. As for the symmetric case, one advantage of the ADC is that driven mirror is partially transmissive rather than perfectly reflecting. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis deals with the concepts of a very interesting phenomenon in quantum physics, the Casimir effect. Here the effect is investigated in detail and its importance to other areas of physics is analysed. The Casimir effect is produced by disturbing the vacuum energy when material boundaries or background fields are introduced in the vacuum. The usual approach to this effect is the vacuum fluctuation that has been studied in the past in relation to the discussion of the zero-point energy as a result of the field resemblance to the quantum harmonic oscillators, where residual ground state energy must be considered. In this thesis a new method to study vacuum fluctuations is presented. This new approach to the problem which is more classical is based on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and the very important fluctuation-dissipation theorem. The other aim of the thesis is to implement a new algorithm for regularizing the Casimir energy for a massive scalar field. Unlike the previous works on this problem by other authors that give approximate results, this attempt will produce precise results. My method is based on a new regularization procedure that allows us to employ the very reliable dimensional regularization scheme in place of a more mathematically complicated zeta-function regularization procedure. In order to achieve this goal I will deal with the problem by using the Euler-Maclaurin summation formula. The result will be a regularized Casimir energy for the case of a massive scalar field. This model may be used for the other geometrical boundaries and different fields. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

We study thoroughly Casimir energy and Casimir force in a rectangular cavity and piston with various boundary conditions, for both scalar field and electromagnetic (EM) field. Using the cylinder kernel approach, we find the Casimir energy exactly and analyze the Casimir energy and Casimir force from the point of view of closed classical paths (or optical paths). For the scalar field, we study the rectangular cavity and rectangular piston with all Dirichlet conditions and all Neumann boundary conditions and then generalize to more general cases with any combination of Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. For the EM field, we first represent the EM field by 2 scalar fields (Hertz potentials), then relate the EM problem to corresponding scalar problems. We study the case with all conducting boundary conditions and then replace some conducting boundary conditions by permeable boundary conditions. By classifying the closed classical paths into 4 kinds: Periodic, Side, Edge and Corner paths, we can see the role played by each kind of path. A general treatment of any combination of boundary conditions is provided. Comparing the differences between different kinds of boundary conditions and exploring the relation between corresponding EM and scalar problems, we can understand the effect of each kind of boundary condition and contribution of each kind of classical path more clearly.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-154). Issued in print and online. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations.