Quantum Cherenkov radiation at the relative sliding of two transparent plates

Abstract

Quantum Cherenkov radiation and quantum friction at the relative sliding of two transparent plates with the refractive index n have been studied in a fully relativistic theory. Radiation appears at velocities above the threshold value, v > v_c = 2nc/(n² + 1). The contribution from s-polarized electromagnetic waves dominates near the threshold velocity. However, in the ultrarelativistic case (v → c), contributions from both polarizations are much larger than those in a nonrelativistic theory and a new contribution from the mixing of waves with different polarizations appears. The numerical results are supplemented by analytical calculations near the threshold velocity and the speed of light.