The radiation of a uniformly accelerated charge is beyond the horizon: A simple derivation

@article{Almeida2005TheRO,
  title={The radiation of a uniformly accelerated charge is beyond the horizon: A simple derivation},
  author={Camila de Almeida and Alberto Saa},
  journal={American Journal of Physics},
  year={2005},
  volume={74},
  pages={154-158}
}
By exploring some elementary consequences of the covariance of Maxwell’s equations under general coordinate transformations, we show that even though inertial observers can detect electromagnetic radiation emitted from a uniformly accelerated charge, comoving observers will see only a static electric field. This analysis can add insight into one of the most celebrated paradoxes of the last century. 
View PDF on arXiv
37 Citations
Background Citations
12
Methods Citations
1

Figures from this paper

37 Citations

Radiation from an accelerated point charge and non-inertial observers

It is known that observers comoving with a uniformly accelerated point charge detect the electromagnetic field of a charge as a static electric field. We show that one can find a similar family of…

Improved calculation of the radiation power of a charged particle undergoing hyperbolic motion

AbstractWithin classical electrodynamics, exact formulas for calculating the radiation loss of the energy of a point charge undergoing hyperbolic motion, including the relativistic region, are…

Radiation from charged particles due to explicit symmetry breaking in a gravitational field

The paradox of a free falling radiating charged particle in a gravitational field is a well-known fascinating conceptual challenge that involves classical electrodynamics and general relativity (GR).…

A discontinuity in the electromagnetic field of a uniformly accelerated charge

The electric field of a uniformly accelerated charge shows a plane of discontinuity, where the field extending only on one side of the plane, terminates abruptly on the plane with a finite value.…

Radiation fields created by accelerated relativistic charges: A simple approach based on inertial moving charges

Maxwell–Faraday stresses in electromagnetic fields and the self-force on a uniformly accelerating point charge

The physical analysis of a uniformly accelerating point charge provides a rich problem to explore in advanced courses in electrodynamics and relativity since it brings together fundamental concepts…

Implications of a Non-zero Poynting Flux at Infinity Sans Radiation Reaction for a Uniformly Accelerated Charge

We investigate in detail the electromagnetic fields of a uniformly accelerated charge, in order to ascertain whether such a charge does ‘emit’ radiation, especially in view of the Poynting flow…

On "the'' electric field of a uniformly accelerating charge

The problem of the electric field of a uniformly accelerating charge is a longstanding one that has led to several issues. We resolve these issues using techniques from linguistics, cognitive…

On the History of the Radiation Reaction 1

Apparently, Kepler considered the pointing of comets’ tails away from the Sun as evidence for radiation pressure of light [2]. Following Newton’s third law (see p. 83 of [3]), one might suppose there…

Electrodynamics of Radiating Charges

The theory of electrodynamics of radiating charges is reviewed with special emphasis on the role of the Schott energy for the conservation of energy for a charge and its electromagnetic field. It is…

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 18 REFERENCES

Electrodynamics of Hyperbolically Accelerated Charges: II. Does a Charged Particle with Hyperbolic Motion Radiate?

Abstract The question whether a hyperbolically moving charge emits radiation is discussed. In order to arrive at an unambiguous answer the question is considered from several points of view. The…

Classical radiation from a uniformly accelerated charge

Electrodynamics of Hyperbolically Accelerated Charges: I. The Electromagnetic Field of a Charged Particle with Hyperbolic Motion

Abstract The electromagnetic field of a charged particle with hyperbolic motion is described. The field of a particle with eternal hyperbolic motion is found by taking the limit of a situation with…

Lorentz-Dirac force from QED for linear acceleration

We investigate the motion of a wave packet of a charged scalar particle linearly accelerated by a static potential in quantum electrodynamics. We calculate the expectation value of the position of…

Electrodynamics of Hyperbolically Accelerated Charges. IV. Energy-Momentum Conservation of Radiating Charged Particles

Abstract The relativistic equation of motion of a radiating charge is discussed with special emphasis upon a clarification of the significance of the Schott energy for the energy-momentum…

Electrodynamics of Hyperbolically Accelerated Charges: III. Energy–Momentum of the Field of a Hyperbolically Moving Charge

Abstract We give a detailed description of the energy–momentum relationships of the Bondi–Gold field. The Schott field is separated into a near field and a radiation field. The physical significance…

Radiation reaction in quantum field theory

We investigate radiation-reaction effects for a charged scalar particle accelerated by an external potential realized as a space-dependent mass term in quantum electrodynamics. In particular, we…

Electrodynamics of hyperbolically accelerated charges V. The field of a charge in the Rindler space and the Milne space

The Phase-Space Structure of the Klein-Gordon Field

Abstract The formalism based on the equal-time Wigner function of the two-point correlation function for a quantized Klein-Gordon field is presented. The notion of the gauge-invariant Wigner…

Radiation from a charged particle and radiation reaction reexamined

We study the electromagnetic fields of an arbitrarily moving charged particle and the radiation reaction on the charged particle using a novel approach. We first show that the fields of an…