Force approach to radiation reaction

The difficulty of the usual approach to deal with the radiation reaction is pointed out, and under the condition that the radiation force must be a function of the external force and is zero whenever the external force be zero, a new and straightforward approach to radiation reaction force and damping is proposed. Starting from the Larmor formula for the power radiated by an accelerated charged particle, written in terms of the applied force instead of the acceleration, an expression for the radiation force is established in general, and applied to the examples for the linear and circular motion of a charged particle. This expression is quadratic in the magnitude of the applied force, inversely proportional to the speed of the charged particle, and directed opposite to the velocity vector. This force approach may contribute to the solution of the very old problem of incorporating the radiation reaction to the motion of the charged particles, and future experiments may tell us whether or not this approach point is in the right direction.

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