Phonon interaction energy of an elastic layer on an infinite half space solid

Abstract

This brief note seeks to establish whether there is a significant contribution to the interaction energy of thin layers on a large substrate from surface mechanical or elastic vibrations. Recent conjectures in the literature (Ruckenstein and Churaev, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 147, 535 (1991)) have claimed that a significant error occurs in the standard Van der Waals theory (see, e.g., Dzyaloshinskil et al., Sov. Phys. JETP 37, 10 (1960); Lifshitz, Sov. Phys. JETP 2, 73 (1956)) due to the neglect of this contribution, since only the energies associated with electromagnetic waves are incorporated. The results of this investigation have entirely confirmed the traditional perspective, and specif..