1998/05/21 by Werner A. Hofer, W. A. Hofer, Hofer, W. A.
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th) #Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph) #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #hep-ph #hep-th #physics.pop-ph #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/9805061
4 pages (RevTeX, twocolumn) and 2 figures (eps). Journal reference updated and the effects of time dilation explained more thoroughly. For a list of available papers see http://info.tuwien.ac.at/cms/wh/
openalex publication_date 1998/05/21 · arxiv created 1998/06/20 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Based on the concept of extended particles recently introduced we perform a Gedankenexperiment accelerating single electrons with photons of suitably low frequency. Accounting for relativistic time dilation due to the acquired velocity and in infinite repetition of single absorption processes it can be shown that the kinetic energy in the infinite limit is equal to me c2/2. However, the inertial mass of the electron seems enhanced, and it can be established that this enhancement is described by the relativistic mass effect. It appears, therefore, that although there exists a singularity in interactions - the frequency required to accelerate the particle near the limit of c becomes infinite - the energy of the particle itself approaches a finite limit. Comparing with calculations of the Lamb-shift by Bethe this result seems to provide the ultimate justification for the renormalization procedures employed.