Plasma damping effects on the radiative energy loss of relativistic particles

Understand

The energy loss of a relativistic charge undergoing multiple scatterings while traversing an infinite, polarizable and absorptive plasma is investigated.

• Polarization and damping mechanisms in the medium are phenomenologically modelled by a complex index of refraction.
• Apart from the known Ter-Mikaelian effect related to the dielectric polarization of matter, we find an additional, substantial reduction of the energy loss due to damping of radiation.
• The observed effect is more prominent for larger damping and/or larger energy of the charge.