A kinetic model of radiating electrons

Noble, Adam and Burton, David and Gratus, Jonathan and Jaroszynski, Dino (2013) A kinetic model of radiating electrons. Journal of Mathematical Physics, 54 (4). 043101. ISSN 0022-2488 (https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4798796)

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Abstract

A kinetic theory is developed to describe radiating electrons whose motion is governed by the Lorentz-Dirac equation. This gives rise to a generalized Vlasov equation coupled to an equation for the evolution of the physical submanifold of phase space. The pathological solutions of the 1-particle theory may be removed by expanding the latter equation in powers of τ ≔ q 2/6πm. The radiation-induced change in entropy is explored and its physical origin is discussed. As a simple demonstration of the theory, the radiative damping rate of longitudinal plasma waves is calculated.