The Self-force on Static and Dynamic Charges in Schwarzschild Spacetime Using the Method of Images

Alan Wiseman, Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Physics, UW-Milwaukee
One of the most basic examples of a self-force phenomenon (sometimes called the radiation reaction force) is that of a small, charged particle near a large spherical mass such as a Schwarzschild black hole. If the particle is held stationary, there are novel electrostatic forces on the particle. If the particle is orbiting the mass, the fields created by the particle back-react on the particle and cause it to depart from its otherwise free-fall motion. There are many ways to solve for the forces and motion in these circumstances, but past solutions have involved considerable technical machinery, and the results are messy and “non-intuitive”.

I will take a fundamentally new approach to this problem using the method of image charges. This approach makes the origin of the forces easier to visualize. In the talk, I will make a clear analogy between this new work and that of familiar examples of the method of images in electrostatics.

The event flyer is available here.