Informal Pizza Seminar

The Casimir force in theories with extra dimensions

Mariana Frank

Concordia University

Ever since Casimir calculated the force of attraction between parallel, unchanged plates, and the calculation has been confirmed experimentally with increasing precision, the quantum vacuum energy has been shown to have observable consequences. Since then, the theory has been applied successfully to different geometries, to dielectrics, and to alternative models of the vacuum. I will present a pedagogical introduction to the Casimir effect, and summarize its main achievements. I will then proceed to discuss recent work in applying the calculation and the experimental constraints to theories with extra dimensions, in particular to theories with universal extra dimensions (UED) and with warped extra dimensions (RS Models).