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Résumé |
The Casimir effect is a quantum phenomenon rooted in the fact that vacuum
fluctuations of quantum fields are affected by the presence of physical
objects and boundaries. As the energy spectrum of vacuum fluctuations depends
on distances between (and geometries of) physical bodies, the quantum vacuum
exerts a small but experimentally detectable force on neutral objects.
Usually, the associated Casimir energy is calculated for free or weakly
coupled quantum fields. In the present talk, recent studies of the Casimir
effect in non-perturbative regimes are reviewed: chiral and deconfining
transitions in finite geometries, the influence of phase transitions on the
Casimir energy and characterise the role of topological defects on Casimir
phenomenon and vice versa. The Casimir effect in non-Abelian gauge theory and
its influence on mass-scales and phases of the theory is discussed. |
