# Radiation Reaction of a Jiggling Dipole in a Quantum Electromagnetic Field

## TL;DR

This paper develops a consistent quantum theory for the radiation reaction of a non-relativistic dipole oscillator, emphasizing the role of quantum fluctuations in ensuring thermodynamic consistency without causing unphysical solutions.

## Contribution

It introduces a non-linear quantum framework that incorporates dipole position fluctuations, avoiding runaway and acausal issues present in previous models.

## Key findings

- The theory is free of runaway solutions and acausality.
- Quantum fluctuations are essential for thermodynamic consistency.
- Demonstrates the necessity of zero-point field fluctuations in quantum radiation reaction.

## Abstract

We show how to derive a consistent quantum theory of radiation reaction of a non-relativistic point-dipole quantum oscillator by including the dynamical fluctuations of the position of the dipole. The proposed non-linear theory displays neither runaway solutions nor acausal behaviour without requiring additional assumptions. Furthermore, we show that quantum (zero-point) fluctuations of the electromagnetic field are necessary to fulfil the second law of thermodynamics.