Paul Dragolin

Reading, Chapter 6

Synchrotron Radiation.

Electric charges radiate when accelerated by magnetic fields. For non-relativistic particles the radiation is classified as "cyclotron radiation" whereas for highly relativistic particles the frequency spectrum is different and the radiation is called "synchrotron radiation." Using the relativistic Newton's law and conservation of energy equations the total emitted power of synchrotron radiation is proportional to the velocity squared and the relativity factor gamma and the energy density of the magnetic field. The spectrum of the radiation is affected by the relativistic motion because of the relativistic beaming and hence an observer will see short pulses of light as the electron is momentarily headed their way. As can be shown by the energy-time uncertainty principle, this short time interval will result in a broad frequency distribution.