Electromagnetic and gravitational self-force on a relativistic particle from quantum fields in curved space

Chad R. Galley, B. L. Hu, and Shih-Yuin Lin
Phys. Rev. D 74, 024017 – Published 18 July 2006

Abstract

We provide a quantum field theoretical derivation of the Abraham-Lorentz-Dirac (ALD) equation, describing the motion of an electric point charge sourcing an electromagnetic field, which backreacts on the charge as a self-force, and the Mino-Sasaki-Tanaka-Quinn-Wald (MSTQW) equation describing the motion of a point mass with self-force interacting with the linearized metric perturbations caused by the mass off an otherwise vacuous curved background spacetime. We regularize the formally divergent self-force by smearing the direct part of the retarded Green’s function and using a quasilocal expansion. We also derive the ALD-Langevin and the MSTQW-Langevin equations with a classical stochastic force accounting for the effect of the quantum fluctuations in the field, which causes small fluctuations on the particle trajectory. These equations will be useful for studying the stochastic motion of charges and small masses under the influence of both quantum and classical noise sources, derived either self-consistently or put in by hand phenomenologically. We also show that history-dependent noise-induced drift motions could arise from such stochastic sources on the trajectory that could be a hidden feature of gravitational wave forms hitherto unknown.

  • Figure
  • Received 24 March 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.74.024017

©2006 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Chad R. Galley1,*, B. L. Hu1,2,†, and Shih-Yuin Lin2,‡

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
  • 2Center for Quantum and Gravitational Physics, Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan

  • *Electronic address: crgalley@physics.umd.edu
  • Electronic address: hub@physics.umd.edu
  • Electronic address: sylin@phys.sinica.edu.tw

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Issue

Vol. 74, Iss. 2 — 15 July 2006

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