Plane-wave approach to the exact van der Waals interaction between colloid particles

  • The numerically exact evaluation of the van der Waals interaction, also known as Casimir interaction when including retardation effects, constitutes a challenging task. We present a new approach based on the plane-wave basis and demonstrate that it possesses advantages over the more commonly used multipole basis. The rotational symmetry of the plane–sphere and sphere–sphere geometries can be exploited by means of a discrete Fourier transform. The new technique is applied to a study of the interaction between a colloid particle made of polystyrene or mercury and another polystyrene sphere or a polystyrene wall in an aqueous solution. Special attention is paid to the influence of screening caused by a variable salt concentration in the medium. It is found that, in particular for low salt concentrations, the error implied by the proximity force approximation is larger than usually assumed. For a mercury droplet, a repulsive interaction is found for sufficiently large distances, providedThe numerically exact evaluation of the van der Waals interaction, also known as Casimir interaction when including retardation effects, constitutes a challenging task. We present a new approach based on the plane-wave basis and demonstrate that it possesses advantages over the more commonly used multipole basis. The rotational symmetry of the plane–sphere and sphere–sphere geometries can be exploited by means of a discrete Fourier transform. The new technique is applied to a study of the interaction between a colloid particle made of polystyrene or mercury and another polystyrene sphere or a polystyrene wall in an aqueous solution. Special attention is paid to the influence of screening caused by a variable salt concentration in the medium. It is found that, in particular for low salt concentrations, the error implied by the proximity force approximation is larger than usually assumed. For a mercury droplet, a repulsive interaction is found for sufficiently large distances, provided that screening is negligible. We emphasize that the effective Hamaker parameter depends significantly on the scattering geometry on which it is based.show moreshow less

Download full text files

Export metadata

Statistics

Number of document requests

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar
Metadaten
Author:Benjamin SprengORCiD, Paulo A. Maia NetoORCiD, Gert-Ludwig IngoldORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:384-opus4-778912
Frontdoor URLhttps://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/opus4/77891
Parent Title (English):Journal of Chemical Physics
Publisher:AIP Publishing
Type:Article
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2020
Embargo Date:2021/07/09
Publishing Institution:Universität Augsburg
Release Date:2020/07/09
Volume:153
Issue:2
First Page:024115
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0011368
Institutes:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlich-Technische Fakultät
Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlich-Technische Fakultät / Institut für Physik
Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlich-Technische Fakultät / Institut für Physik / Lehrstuhl für Theoretische Physik I
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 53 Physik / 530 Physik
Licence (German):Deutsches Urheberrecht