How about: Can realistic boundary conditions cure the Casimir energy divergence?

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SUMMARY

The recent research paper demonstrates that implementing more realistic boundary conditions in the calculation of Casimir energy results in divergence near the plates. This finding contradicts previous assumptions about idealized boundary conditions, indicating that the energy is significantly influenced by the material properties. The study emphasizes that relying on idealized conditions invalidates calculations of Casimir stresses, highlighting the necessity for accurate modeling in theoretical physics.

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selfAdjoint
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This new research paper shows that more realistic boundary conditions on the Casimir energy calculation can lead it to diverge in the neighborhood of the plates. Obvious applications to sf devices are left as an exercise
 
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Very interesting.

Does this still square with the "quantum inequalities" on negative energy densities?
 
Originally posted by selfAdjoint
This new research paper shows that more realistic boundary conditions on the Casimir energy calculation can lead it to diverge...

You got it backwards: Realistic BCs are the cure, as one would expect. Here are the final two sentences in the abstract:

"This result implies that the energy depends in detail on the properties of the material, which are not captured by the idealized boundary conditions. This divergence...does invalidate calculations of Casimir stresses based on idealized boundary conditions."
 
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