Cyclotron radiation

In particle physics, cyclotron radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted by non-relativistic accelerating charged particles deflected by a magnetic field.[1] The Lorentz force on the particles acts perpendicular to both the magnetic field lines and the particles' motion through them, creating an acceleration of charged particles that causes them to emit radiation as a result of the acceleration they undergo as they spiral around the lines of the magnetic field.

The name of this radiation derives from the cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator used since the 1930s to create highly energetic particles for study. The cyclotron makes use of the circular orbits that charged particles exhibit in a uniform magnetic field. Furthermore, the period of the orbit is independent of the energy of the particles, allowing the cyclotron to operate at a set frequency. Cyclotron radiation is emitted by all charged particles travelling through magnetic fields, not just those in cyclotrons. Cyclotron radiation from plasma in the interstellar medium or around black holes and other astronomical phenomena is an important source of information about distant magnetic fields.[2][3]

  1. ^ Monreal, Benjamin (Jan 2016). "Single-electron cyclotron radiation". Physics Today. 69 (1): 70. Bibcode:2016PhT....69a..70M. doi:10.1063/pt.3.3060.
  2. ^ Dogiel, V. A. (March 1992). "Gamma-ray astronomy". Contemporary Physics. 33 (2): 91–109. Bibcode:1992ConPh..33...91D. doi:10.1080/00107519208219534.
  3. ^ Zheleznyakov, V. V. (January 1997). "Space plasma under extreme conditions". Radiophysics and Quantum Electronics. 40 (1–2): 3–15. Bibcode:1997R&QE...40....3Z. doi:10.1007/BF02677820. S2CID 121796067.