Radiation Reaction near the Classical Limit in Aligned Crystals

Understand

An accelerated charged particle emits electromagnetic radiation.

• If the driving force is sufficiently strong, the radiated energy becomes comparable to the kinetic energy of the particle and the back-action of the emitted radiation (radiation reaction) significantly alters the dynamics of the particle.
• The Landau-Lifshitz (LL) equation has been proposed as the classical equation to describe the dynamics of a charged particle in a strong electromagnetic field when the effects of radiation reaction are taken into account.
• Hitherto, the experimental problem in validating the LL equation has been to achieve sufficiently strong fields for radiation reaction to be important without quantum effects being prominent.