Casimir forces across magnetic plasmas at nuclear separations

Abstract

A theory and numerical findings are presented on the magnetic Casimir interaction that arises from vacuum fluctuations of the quantized field and its effects at the nuclear scale. We investigate how the zero-temperature Casimir effect at nuclear scales can generate the black-body temperatures required to induce a magnetic electron–positron plasma. The magnetic permeability of the plasma and any magnetic fields present influence the screened Casimir–Yukawa potentials between perfect conducting surfaces. We discuss implications for the magnetic Casimir–Yukawa potential, its screening length, and a magnetic permeability-dependent quantity that resembles the meson mass.