Abstract
A theory of radiation pressure and its effects on the gross motion of an aggregrate of charges is established within a canonical framework. The theory indicates the existence of radiation-pressure effects arising from an additional interaction--the R\ontgen interaction--whose origin is the classical R\ontgen current. A careful development of the formalism reveals the importance of distinguishing between the canonical and mechanical momenta of the gross motion of the aggregate and of incorporating the R\ontgen-type interaction terms when calculating the gross-motion dynamics. A form of the R\ontgen interaction is present even in the dipole approximation: an effect which has previously been ignored but which is necessary to ensure gauge invariance of the radiation-induced mechanical force. Explicit calculations of the rates of change of canonical and mechanical momenta are presented for a general atomic dipole, with specializations to a two-level atom, revealing the presence of velocity-dependent terms in a natural way. The formalism is consistent with the Minkowski form of the classical momentum density of an electromagnetic field.
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