dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaClassical electrodynamics with vacuum polarization: electron self-energy and radiation reaction
| Authors | S. M. Blinder |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0105077 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0105077 |
| DOI | 10.1016/S0034-4877(01)80042-2 |
Abstract
The region very close to an electron ($r << r_0 = e^2/mc^2 \approx 2.8\times 10^{-13}$ cm) is, according to quantum electrodynamics, a seething maelstrom of virtual electron-positron pairs flashing in and out of existence. To take account of this well-established physical reality, a phenomenological representation for vacuum polarization is introduced into the framework of classical electrodynamics. Such a model enables a consistent picture of classical point charges with finite electromagnetic self-energy. It is further conjectured that the reaction of a point charge to its own electromagnetic field is tantamount to interaction with its vacuum polarization charge or "aura". This leads to a modification of the Lorentz-Dirac equation for the force on an accelerating electron, a new differential-difference equation which avoids the pathologies of preacceleration and runaway solutions.
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"abstract": "The region very close to an electron ($r \u003c\u003c r_0 = e^2/mc^2 \\approx 2.8\\times\n10^{-13}$ cm) is, according to quantum electrodynamics, a seething maelstrom of\nvirtual electron-positron pairs flashing in and out of existence. To take\naccount of this well-established physical reality, a phenomenological\nrepresentation for vacuum polarization is introduced into the framework of\nclassical electrodynamics. Such a model enables a consistent picture of\nclassical point charges with finite electromagnetic self-energy. It is further\nconjectured that the reaction of a point charge to its own electromagnetic\nfield is tantamount to interaction with its vacuum polarization charge or\n\"aura\". This leads to a modification of the Lorentz-Dirac equation for the\nforce on an accelerating electron, a new differential-difference equation which\navoids the pathologies of preacceleration and runaway solutions.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0105077",
"authors": [
"S. M. Blinder"
],
"categories": [
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],
"doi": "10.1016/S0034-4877(01)80042-2",
"title": "Classical electrodynamics with vacuum polarization: electron self-energy and radiation reaction",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0105077"
},
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