Abstract
Acceleration is a concept reaching beyond special relativity ideas. Einstein’s inertial frame of reference and coordinate transformation approach avoids use of acceleration in arguing principles of relativity. Lorentz’s approach where the same results arise applying (small) acceleration to material bodies opens up the need to understand acceleration. We argue that acceleration is defined locally and that it manifests itself by emission of radiation; we develop our argument looking at gravitation radiation. The emission of electromagnetic radiation and the associated loss in energy by accelerated charged bodies generate for non-inertial particles radiation reaction force, a radiation vacuum-friction. Several proposed improvements to the Lorentz force that take account of this radiation reaction vacuum friction effect are described. These descriptions lack full consistency showing that consistent theory of electromagnetism in the regime of strong acceleration awaits discovery. We call this situation the ‘Acceleration Frontier’ exploration of the laws of physics.
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Notes
- 1.
Ernst Mach (1838–1916), Professor at Graz, Salzburg, Prague (for most of his life), and Vienna; remembered for Mach number, shock waves, and Mach’s principle.
- 2.
For a generally accessible discussion see J. Rafelski and B. Müller, The Structured Vacuum: Thinking about Nothing, Harri Deutsch (Frankfurt 1985); hard copy edition out of print, see E-republication in 2006 at http://www.physics.arizona.edu/~rafelski/Books/StructVacuumE.pdf.
- 3.
For detailed discussion see box 11.2, pp. 553/4 and related material in E. Poisson and C.M. Will, Gravity: Newtonian, Post-Newtonian, Relativistic, Cambridge University Press (2014).
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It is generally believed that dominant component in the gravitating energy of the Universe is originating in the vacuum structure. This ‘dark’ energy cannot thus be moved and/or concentrated.
- 9.
M. Planck, “Über irreversible Strahlungsvorgänge,” (translated: “On irreversibility of radiation processes”) Sitzungsberichte der Königlich Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 5, 440 (1899), see last page 480.
- 10.
See: W. Greiner, B. Müller and J. Rafelski, Quantum Electrodynamics of Strong Fields, Springer (Heidelberg, New York, 1985).
- 11.
Adapted from: J. Rafelski and L. Labun, “Critical Acceleration and Quantum Vacuum,” Modern Phys. Lett. A 28, 1340014 (2013).
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Review Article: Tae Moon Jeong and Jongmin Lee “Femtosecond petawatt laser,” Ann. Phys. (Berlin) 526, 157–172 (2014), doi:10.1002/andp.201300192.
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Page 71 of European Strategy Forum Report 2016 on Research Infrastructures, prepared by the StR-ESFRI project. To quote: “the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) is a Research Infrastructure of Pan-European interest for experiments on extreme light-matter interactions at the highest intensities, shortest time scales and broadest spectral range. ELI is based on three sites (known as pillars, located in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania) with complementary scientific profiles, and the possible implementation of a fourth pillar, the highest intensity pillar, dependent on on-going laser technology development and validation. The fourth pillar laser power is expected to exceed that of the current ELI pillars by another order of magnitude, allowing for an extended scientific program in particle physics, nuclear physics, gravitational physics, nonlinear field theory, ultrahigh-pressure physics, astrophysics and cosmology (generating intensities exceeding \(10^{23}\,\mbox{W/cm}^{2}\)).”
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Y. Hadad, L. Labun, J. Rafelski, N. Elkina, C. Klier and H. Ruhl, “Effects of Radiation-Reaction in Relativistic Laser Acceleration,” Phys. Rev. D 82, 096012 (2010).
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For a review see: S. Mobilio, F. Boscherini, C. Meneghini (eds.) Synchrotron Radiation: Basics, Methods and Applications, Springer (Heidelberg, New York, 2015).
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The reader interested in historical evolution of ideas about the radiation reaction force will gain additional insight from: Fritz Rohrlich, Classical Charged Particles, 3rd Edition, (World Scientific, Singapore, 2007); and: V.L. Ginzburg, Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, 1st Edition (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1979) (translation by D. Ter Haar from the original Russian edition of 1974).
- 18.
P.A.M. Dirac, “Classical theory of radiating electrons,” Proc. Roy. Soc. A 167, 148 (1938).
- 19.
See Sect. 21.11 in W.K.H. Panofski and M. Phillips, Classical Electricity and Magnetism, Addison-Wesley (Reading, MA, 1962).
- 20.
The treatment of radiation reaction and its discussion varies from edition to edition, tracking how authors evolved their point of view: L.D. Landau and E.M. Lifshitz, The Classical Theory of Fields (Pergamon, Oxford, 1962, 1975, 1989).
- 21.
P. Caldirola, “A Relativistic theory of the classical electron,” Riv. Nuovo Cim. 2N13, 1 (1979); P. Caldirola, G. Casati and A. Prosperetti, “On the classical theory of the electron,” Il Nuovo Cim. 43, 127 (1978).
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S. Dimopoulos, G.L. Landsberg, “Black holes at the LHC,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 161602 (2001).
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Safety of high-energy particle collision experiments, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_of_high-energy_particle_collision_experiments.
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Rafelski, J. (2017). Afterword: Acceleration. In: Relativity Matters. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51231-0_29
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