https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201611308001
Van der Waals and Casimir-Polder interactions between neutrons
1 ITAMP, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, MS 14, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138
2 Instituto de Estudos Avançados, Universidade de São Paulo C. P. 72012, 05508-970 São Paulo - SP, Brazil
3 Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, C. P. 66318, 05314-970 São Paulo, Brazil
4 Departamento de Física, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, CTA, São José dos Campos, S.P., Brazil
a e-mail: jbabb@cfa.harvard.edu
b e-mail: hussein@if.usp.br
Published online: 25 March 2016
We investigate the van der Waals interaction between neutrons using the theory of Casimir and Polder, wherein the potential for asymptotically large separations falls off as the inverse seventh power, and compare it to the similar interaction between a neutron and a proton, for which the asymptotic interaction falls off as the inverse fourth power. Modifications of the formalism to extend the validity to smaller separations using dynamic electric and magnetic dipole polarizability data are discussed.
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2016
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