Finite size effects on the Poynting-Robertson effect: a fully general relativistic treatment

TL;DR

This paper presents a fully relativistic analysis of how the finite size of a radiation source influences the Poynting-Robertson effect, enabling detailed study of critical points and suspension orbits.

Contribution

It provides the first fully relativistic treatment of finite size effects on the Poynting-Robertson effect, extending beyond previous non-relativistic approaches.

Findings

Characterization of the critical point and suspension orbit in a relativistic context.

Systematic analysis of finite size effects on radiation forces.

New insights into the dynamics of particles under radiation in relativistic regimes.

Abstract

Ever since the first discovery of Poynting and Robertson, the radiation source has been treated as merely a point. Even in a very few studies where the size of the source has been taken into account, the treatment of the problem remained largely non-relativistic. In the present work, we address the issue of the finite size effects on the Poynting-Robertson effect in a fully relativistic manner for the first time. As a result, the emergence and the characteristic of the critical point/suspension orbit can be studied in a systematic and detailed manner.