Nanoscale radiative heat transfer between a small particle and a plane surface

We study the radiative heat transfer between a small dielectric particle, considered as a point-like dipole, and a surface. In the framework of electrodynamics and using the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, we can evaluate the energy exchange in the near field, which is dominated by the contribution of tunneling waves. The transfer is enhanced by several orders of magnitude if the surface or the particle can support resonant surface waves. An application to local heating is discussed. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.