---
author:
- |
    Klaus Aehlig$^1$, Helge Dietert$^2$, Thomas Fischbacher$^1$, and Jochen Gerhard$^3$\
    ${}^1$ University of Southampton, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment,\
    Southampton, UK\
    ${}^2$ University of Cambridge, UK\
    ${}^3$ Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies,\
    Institut für Informatik,\
    Goethe Universität Frankfurt, DE
title: 'Casimir Forces via Worldline Numerics: Method Improvements and Potential Engineering Applications'
---

Introduction
============

Casimir forces, i.e., electromagnetic forces arising due to quantum effects between uncharged conductors at distances much larger than characteristic atomic radii, have first been predicted via theoretical considerations in 1948 [@Casimir48], and have since been verified experimentally to 1% accuracy [@PhysRevLett.81.4549]. While initially a fringe subject – albeit unfortunately one that drew considerable attention from pseudoscientific authors – research interest in Casimir forces strongly increased in particular in the last decade, and a number of novel theoretical tools were developed [@Scardicchio:2004fy; @2003hep.th...11168M; @Rahi:2010zr; @PhysRevA.76.032106] that allow the study of the Casimir effect in considerably more involved situations (geometries, material properties, temperature) than earlier investigations. At present, one major obstacle to research is that Casimir force calculations often still are computationally very demanding. Nevertheless, the development of theoretical tools and methods must go hand in hand with progress in nanoscale manufacturing, for it 