Relativistic Drag and Emission Radiation Pressures in an Isotropic Photonic Gas

TL;DR

This paper derives the relativistic radiation pressures experienced by a moving surface in an isotropic photon gas, considering emission and drag effects in different frames, and explores related thermodynamic cycles.

Contribution

It introduces a relativistic spectral radiance framework to calculate radiation pressures on surfaces in various frames, including non-inertial, and analyzes associated thermodynamic cycles.

Findings

Derived expressions for drag radiation pressure in inertial and non-inertial frames.

Compared forward- and rearward-directed emission radiation pressures.

Identified conditions for a Carnot cycle due to temperature gradients.

Abstract

By invoking the relativistic spectral radiance, as derived by Lee and Cleaver [1], the drag radiation pressure of a relativistic planar surface moving through an isotropic radiation field, with which it is in thermal equilibrium, is determined in inertial and non-inertial frames. The forward- and rearward-directed emission radiation pressures are also derived and compared. A fleeting (inertial frames) or ongoing (some non-inertial frames) Carnot cycle is shown to exist as a result of an intra-surfaces temperature gradient. The drag radiation pressure on an object with an arbitrary frontal geometry is also described.