Van der Waals force between dielectric plates derived from the quantum statistical mechanical path integral method

The Van der Waals force (or Casimir force) between two semi-infinite dielectric slabs conventionally derived via field theoretical methods - is derived in a novel way using the quantum statistical mechanical model introduced earlier by Hoye-Stell and others. Both the static case, and the time-dependent case, are considered. The present paper generalizes earlier work of the present authors [I. Brevik, J.S. Hoye, Physica A 153 (1988) 420], dealing with the Van der Waals force between monatomics. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.