Novel Relativistic Effect Important in Accelerators

It is shown that a bunch of charged particles following a curved path in a magnetic field is subject to a force due to its own electromagnetic field. One aspect of this is a "centrifugal" force acting on individual particles in the bunch. A resonance mechanism, capable of disrupting the beam at modest currents, is given as an example of the importance of this force. The theory is tested with observations from the Cornell Electron Storage Ring. This force will cause important modifications to existing theories of accelerator stability.