  In this paper we investigate how the dynamics of a two-level atom is affected
by its interaction with the quantized near field of a plasmonic slab in
relative motion. We demonstrate that for small separation distances and a
relative velocity greater than a certain threshold, this interaction can lead
to a population inversion, such that the probability of the excited state
exceeds the probability of the ground state, corresponding to a negative
spontaneous emission rate. It is shown that the developed theory is intimately
related to a classical problem. The problem of quantum friction is analyzed and
the differences with respect to the corresponding classical effect are
highlighted.
