Classical and quantum radiation reaction in conformally flat spacetime

Atsushi Higuchi, Philip James Walker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We investigate the physics of a charged scalar particle moving in conformally flat spacetime with the conformal factor depending only on time in the framework of quantum electrodynamics (QED). In particular, we show that the radiation-reaction force derived from QED agrees with the classical counterpart in the limit [h-bar]-->0 using the fact that to lowest order in [h-bar] the charged scalar field theory with mass m in conformally flat spacetime with conformal factor Omega(t), which we call Model B, is equivalent to that in flat spacetime with a time-dependent mass mOmega(t), which we call Model A, at tree level in this limit. We also consider the one-loop QED corrections to these two models in the semiclassical approximation. We find nonzero one-loop corrections to the mass and Maxwell's equations in Model A at order [h-bar]-1. This does not mean, however, that the corresponding one-loop corrections in Model B are nonzero because the equivalence of these models through a conformal transformation breaks down at one loop. We find that the one-loop corrections vanish in the limit [h-bar]-->0 in Model B.
Original languageEnglish
Article number105023
Pages (from-to)105023
Number of pages1
JournalPhys Rev D
Volume79
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2009

Keywords

  • Mathematical Physics

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