Casimir effect with nonlocal boundary interactions

Abstract

We derive a general expression for the Casimir energy corresponding to two flat parallel mirrors in d+1 dimensions, described by nonlocal interaction potentials. For a real scalar field, the interaction with the mirrors is implemented by a term which is a quadratic form in the field, with a nonlocal kernel. The resulting expression for the energy is a function of the parameters that define the nonlocal kernel. We show that the general expression has the correct limit in the zero width case, and also present the exact solution for a particular case.