Dissipative force on a sphere moving in vacuum

Abstract
We derive the spectrum of fluctuations of the vacuum radiation pressure on a spherical perfectly reflecting mirror. From the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, we obtain the dissipative force exerted upon the mirror when it moves in vacuum. As in the classical problem of scattering by a plane wave, the spectrum presents a resonant behavior at wavelengths of the order of the sphere’s radius. The high-frequency limit agrees with Barton’s general result for a large body of arbitrary shape.

This publication has 14 references indexed in Scilit: