Open AccessExperimental verification of the Landau–Lifshitz equation
Author(s) -
Christian F. Nielsen,
Allan Sørensen,
R. Holtzapple,
Jeannette Justesen,
U. I. Uggerhøj
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
new journal of physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.584
H-Index - 190
ISSN - 1367-2630
DOI - 10.1088/1367-2630/ac1554
Subject(s) - physics , electron , magnetic field , landau quantization , spectral line , radiation , recoil , quantum electrodynamics , atomic physics , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics
The Landau–Lifshitz (LL) equation has been proposed as the classical equation to describe the dynamics of a charged particle in a strong electromagnetic field when influenced by radiation reaction. Until recently, there has been no clear experimental verification. However, aligned crystals have remedied the situation: here, as in Nielsen et al CERN NA63 Collaboration (2020 Phys. Rev. D 102 052004), we report on a quantitative experimental test of the LL equation by measuring the emission spectra of electrons and positrons penetrating aligned single crystals. The recorded spectra are in remarkable agreement with simulations based on the LL equation of motion with moderate quantum corrections for recoil and, in the case of electrons in axially aligned crystals, spin and reduced radiation intensity.