Dynamical Casimir effect with semi-transparent mirrors, and cosmology

After reviewing some essential features of the Casimir effect and, specifically, of its regularization by zeta function and Hadamard methods, we consider the dynamical Casimir effect (or Fulling-Davies theory), where related regularization problems appear, with a view to an experimental verification of this theory. We finish with a discussion of the possible contribution of vacuum fluctuations to dark energy, in a Casimir-like fashion, that might involve the dynamical version.