We study all known and as yet unknown forces between two neutral atoms, modeled as three dimensional harmonic oscillators, arising from mutual influences mediated by an electromagnetic field but not from their direct interactions. We allow as dynamical variables the center of mass motion of the atom, its internal degrees of freedom and the quantum field treated relativistically. We adopt the method of nonequilibrium quantum field theory which can provide a first principle, systematic and unified description including the intrinsic field fluctuations and induced dipole fluctuations. The inclusion of self-consistent back-actions makes possible a fully dynamical description of these forces valid for general atom motion. In thermal equilibrium we recover the known forces -- London, van der Waals and Casimir-Polder forces -- between neutral atoms in the long-time limit but also discover the existence of two new types of interatomic forces. The first, a `nonequilibrium force', arises when the field and atoms are not in thermal equilibrium, and the second, which we call an `entanglement force', originates from the correlations of the internal degrees of freedom of entangled atoms.
Quantum criticality and nonequilibrium dynamics on a Lieb lattice of Rydberg atoms
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory（劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室）；University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）；University of Toronto（多伦多大学）；QuEra Computing Inc.（QuEra计算公司）；Princeton University（普林斯顿大学）
