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Nonuniqueness of the “physical” acceleration for the Lorentz-Dirac equation

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Abstract

The Lorentz-Dirac equation is analyzed for the case of a charged particle injected into a step-function electric field of finite extent. It is shown that for small exit velocities, the relation between entrance and exit velocities is “inverted” in the sense that the larger the entrance velocity, the smaller the exit velocity. As a consequence, some entrance velocities can yield at least two distinct exit velocities. Numerical evidence bearing on the possibility of experimentally detecting this dichotomy is presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Massachusetts at Boston, 02125, Boston, Massachusetts

    Stephen Parrott

  2. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee

    Daniel J. Endres

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  1. Stephen Parrott
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  2. Daniel J. Endres
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Parrott, S., Endres, D.J. Nonuniqueness of the “physical” acceleration for the Lorentz-Dirac equation. Found Phys 25, 441–464 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02059230

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02059230

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