Quasi-classical dynamics of a charged particle under conditions of ionization losses in a weak magnetic field

Abstract

The quasi-classical dynamics of a charged particle in a weak magnetic field in the presence of dissipative losses caused by ionization of the medium is studied. The approximate approach proposed here is a generalization of the Caldirola—Kanai method for quantizing the translational motion of particles in dissipative media. It is shown that a weak curvature of a classical trajectory by the magnetic field is accompanied by an isotropic increase of uncertainty of the particle coordinates to the some maximum value at the moment the localized probability density wave packet stops. The limitation of the increase of coordinate uncertainty is due to irreversible ionization losses.