Does a charge, falling freely in a static gravitational field, radiate?

Abstract

The Poynting vector flux from a charge at rest in an inertial frame is calculated, on the basis of the standard classical Maxwell-Lorentz theory, in a uniformly accelerated frame, through a suitable set of spherical 2-surfaces. The results are also interpreted in the framework of general relativity, and critically discussed in connection with the equivalence principle. In particular, we introduce a «quasi-local» definition of radiation, and conclude that a charge, falling freely in a gravitational field locally approximated by a static homogeneous gravitational field (SHGF), does not radiate in its rest frame, but does radiate in a frame supported in the SHGF. Such a radiation appears as «fictitious», i.e. a coordinate transformation eliminating the gravitational field eliminates at the same time also the radiation.