  We investigate the dynamical Casimir-Polder force between an atom and a
conducting wall during the time evolution of the system from a partially
dressed state. This state is obtained by a sudden change of the atomic position
with respect to the plate. To evaluate the time-dependent atom-plate
Casimir-Polder force we solve the Heisenberg equations for the field and atomic
operators by an iterative technique. We find that the dynamical atom-plate
Casimir-Polder interaction exhibits oscillation in time, and can be attractive
or repulsive depending on time and the atom-wall distance. We also investigate
the time dependence of global observables, such as the field and atomic
Hamiltonians, and discuss some interesting features of the dynamical process
bringing the interaction energy to the equilibrium configuration.
