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Relativistic ponderomotive force, uphill acceleration, and transition to chaos

D. Bauer·P. Mulser·W. -H. Steeb
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Abstract

Starting from a covariant cycle-averaged Lagrangian the relativistic oscillation center equation of motion of a point charge is deduced and analytical formulae for the ponderomotive force in a travelling wave of arbitrary strength are presented. It is further shown that the ponderomotive forces for transverse and longitudinal waves are different; in the latter, uphill acceleration can occur. In a standing wave there exists a threshold intensity above which, owing to transition to chaos, the secular motion can no longer be described by a regular ponderomotive force. PACS number(s): 52.20.Dq,05.45.+b,52.35.Mw,52.60.+h

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D. Bauer, P. Mulser, W. -H. Steeb. 1996-04-04. Relativistic ponderomotive force, uphill acceleration, and transition to chaos. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.75.4622

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