Covariant Equation of Motion for a Particle in an Electromagnetic Field

Abstract

A relativistically covariant form of the equation of motion for an arbitrarily shaped dust particle under the action of electromagnetic radiation is derived. The particle is neutral in charge. The equation of motion is expressed in terms of the particle’s optical properties, standardly used for stationary particles. The derived covariant equation of motion yields, as special cases, the well-known examples presented in the first half of the twentieth century by Einstein and Robertson.