Self-consistent radiative backaction in dispersion interactions: a minimal mQED model
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866915978733944832 |
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| author | Fiedler, Johannes |
| author_facet | Fiedler, Johannes |
| contents | Dispersion interactions are usually derived assuming fixed internal spectra of the interacting quantum systems. Here, we relax this assumption and study how self-consistent electromagnetic backaction modifies van der Waals interactions when excitation energies and transition dipole moments are allowed to respond to the interaction itself.
Within a macroscopic quantum electrodynamics framework, we formulate a self-consistent treatment that includes both self-energy corrections and mutual backaction. Using a minimal three-level model, we show that, while one-sided self-energy effects are short-ranged, fully self-consistent backaction can lead to substantial, long-ranged modifications of the effective van der Waals interaction.
Our analysis demonstrates that these effects originate from the coherent accumulation of repeated photon-mediated scattering processes. The results highlight limitations of perturbative dispersion theories with fixed spectra and identify few-level systems as a clean platform for studying backaction in dispersion forces. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_02981 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Self-consistent radiative backaction in dispersion interactions: a minimal mQED model Fiedler, Johannes Quantum Physics Dispersion interactions are usually derived assuming fixed internal spectra of the interacting quantum systems. Here, we relax this assumption and study how self-consistent electromagnetic backaction modifies van der Waals interactions when excitation energies and transition dipole moments are allowed to respond to the interaction itself. Within a macroscopic quantum electrodynamics framework, we formulate a self-consistent treatment that includes both self-energy corrections and mutual backaction. Using a minimal three-level model, we show that, while one-sided self-energy effects are short-ranged, fully self-consistent backaction can lead to substantial, long-ranged modifications of the effective van der Waals interaction. Our analysis demonstrates that these effects originate from the coherent accumulation of repeated photon-mediated scattering processes. The results highlight limitations of perturbative dispersion theories with fixed spectra and identify few-level systems as a clean platform for studying backaction in dispersion forces. |
| title | Self-consistent radiative backaction in dispersion interactions: a minimal mQED model |
| topic | Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.02981 |