Corrections to the Casimir–Polder potential arising from electric octupole coupling

Abstract

ABSTRACTMolecular QED theory is employed to derive a generalised formula for the dispersion potential between two molecules with mixed electric multipole polarisability tensors of arbitrary order at each centre. This expression is used to readily extract the pair energy shift between an electric dipole polarisable molecule and a mixed electric dipole–octupole polarisable one, and that between two mixed electric dipole–octupole polarisable species. This is done to see whether these interaction energies give rise to higher-order corrections to the Casimir–Polder potential, as was found in the previously calculated case of the dispersion energy shift between an electric dipole polarisable molecule and an electric octupole polarisable one. Interestingly, for orientationally averaged species, both of the computed interaction energies are independent of the octupole weight-3 term, are retarded, and may be interpreted as higher-order corrections in the fine structure constant to the leading dipole–dipole dispersion potential.