Edge physics and the Casimir interaction in Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory on a strip

[2608.12622] Edge physics and the Casimir interaction in Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory on a strip Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Search arXiv Press Enter to search · Advanced search High Energy Physics - Theory arXiv:2608.12622 (hep-th) [Submitted on 12 Aug 2026 ( v1 ), last revised 15 Aug 2026 (this version, v2)] Title: Edge physics and the Casimir interaction in Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory on a strip Authors: Nicola Maggiore View a PDF of the paper titled Edge physics and the Casimir interaction in Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory on a strip, by Nicola Maggiore View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: We study how boundaries affect Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory, a three-dimensional gauge theory that combines ordinary electromagnetic propagation with a topological Chern-Simons term. On a strip, the two boundaries can support edge excitations while the single massive bulk mode mediates a Casimir interaction between them. We use Symanzik's local boundary-field-theory framework, deriving the boundary conditions from the most general quadratic local boundary action considered here rather than imposing them by hand. Requiring these conditions to act consistently on the unique physical bulk mode selects a continuous family of admissible boundaries, characterized by an impedance and an edge velocity. The associated conserved currents form two boundary current algebras with opposite levels, and for a symmetric strip the edge modes propagate in opposite directions. The bulk and residual edge sectors factorize, leaving a single physical scattering channel for the Casimir problem. We derive its reflection amplitude, identify a stable pole-free domain, and show that the force is attractive there. In the Maxwell limit the usual long-range one-channel Casimir interaction is recovered, whereas the topological mass produces exponential screening at large separation. Outside the pole-free domain, localized surface modes can appear and must be included separately. The analysis provides a unified description of edge dynamics, boundary conditions and vacuum forces in a topologically massive gauge theory. Comments: 41 pages, 2 figures Subjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th) ; Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) Cite as: arXiv:2608.12622 [hep-th] (or arXiv:2608.12622v2 [hep-th] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2608.12622 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Journal reference: Physical Review D 114, 045030 (2026) Related DOI : https://doi.org/10.1103/p3x2-k9wm Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources Submission history From: Nicola Maggiore [ view email ] [v1] Wed, 12 Aug 2026 22:09:11 UTC (67 KB) [v2] Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:19:57 UTC (67 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Edge physics and the Casimir interaction in Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory on a strip, by Nicola Maggiore View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source view license Current browse context: hep-th < prev | next > new | recent | 2026-08 Change to browse by: cond-mat cond-mat.mes-hall References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... 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