Novel reaction force for ultra-relativistic dynamics of a classical point charge

Abstract

The problem of the electromagnetic radiation of an accelerated charged particle is one of the most controversial issues in Physics since the beginning of the last century, representing one of the most popular unsolved problems of the Modern Physics. Different equations of motion have been proposed throughout history for a point charge including the electromagnetic radiation emitted, but all these expressions show some limitations. An equation based on the principle of conservation of energy is proposed in this work for the ultra-relativistic motion. Different examples are analyzed showing that the energy lost by the charge agrees with the Li\'enard formula. This proposed equation has been compared with the Landau-Lifshitz equation obtaining a good agreement in the range of application of the Landau-Lifshitz formula.