Speaker
Description
Axion dark matter can modify electromagnetic phenomena through its coupling to photons, leading to new signatures in precision experiments. In the presence of an external magnetic field, the axion–photon interaction acts as an effective electromagnetic source that generates oscillating fields inside a cavity. Previous work by Brax and Brun showed that this mechanism can produce both classical and quantum modifications of Casimir forces between material bodies: a classical Casimir-like pressure arising from axion-induced electromagnetic fields, which can be resonantly enhanced when the cavity modes match the axion frequency, as well as quantum corrections associated with modifications of the electromagnetic vacuum modes. In this talk, I review these results and present recent progress in modelling axion-induced Casimir forces in realistic experimental configurations. The induced electromagnetic response and the resulting pressure are computed using the Lifshitz formalism, incorporating realistic material properties such as dissipation in conducting plates and finite temperature effects. Particular emphasis will be placed on two-dimensional materials such as graphene, whose tuneable electromagnetic response and unique properties may provide additional control over the cavity resonances and the resulting Casimir signal.