The ponderomotive Lorentz force

TL;DR

This paper reveals a universal magnetic-like force acting on particles in rapidly varying potential fields, extending beyond linear cases to a broad class of time-dependent potentials.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of a previously unrecognized magnetic-like force in general rapidly varying potential fields, not limited to linear or quadratic cases.

Findings

The magnetic-like force is universal in rapidly varying potential fields.

It extends the known linear case of rotating quadratic saddle potentials.

The phenomenon applies to a broad class of time-dependent potentials.

Abstract

This paper describes a curious phenomenon: a particle in a rapidly varying potential is subject to an effective magnetic-like force. This force is in addition to the well-known ponderomotive force, but it has not been shown to exist before except for the linear case of a rapidly rotating quadratic saddle potential. We show that this is a universal phenomenon: the magnetic-like force arises generically in potential force fields with rapid periodic time dependence, including but not limited to rotational dependence.