Finite-temperature Casimir pistons for an electromagnetic field with mixed boundary conditions and its classical limit

Abstract

In this paper, the finite-temperature Casimir force acting on a two-dimensional Casimir piston due to an electromagnetic field is computed. It was found that if mixed boundary conditions are assumed on the piston and its opposite wall, then the Casimir force always tends to restore the piston toward the equilibrium position, regardless of the boundary conditions assumed on the walls transverse to the piston. In contrast, if pure boundary conditions are assumed on the piston and the opposite wall, then the Casimir force always tends to pull the piston toward the closer wall and away from the equilibrium position. The nature of the force is not affected by temperature. However, in the high-temperature regime, the magnitude of the Casimir force grows linearly with respect to temperature. This shows that the Casimir effect has a classical limit as has been observed in other literature.