Radiation friction vs ponderomotive effect

TL;DR

This paper explores the dominance of radiation friction over ponderomotive effects in intense fields, revealing new particle trapping and impenetrability phenomena through a novel theoretical approach.

Contribution

It introduces an upgraded ponderomotive potential framework accounting for radiation friction, with a new drift equation derived via time scale separation.

Findings

Radiation friction leads to long-term particle trapping.

Particles become impenetrable to the focus from outside.

A new theoretical model describes particle motion under radiation friction.

Abstract

The concept of ponderomotive potential is upgraded to a regime in which radiation friction becomes dominant. The radiation friction manifests itself in novel features of long-term capturing of the particles released at the focus and impenetrability of the focus from the exterior. We apply time scales separation to the Landau-Lifshitz equation splitting the particle motion into quivering and slow drift of a guiding center. The drift equation is deduced by averaging over fast motion.