Thermal effects of acceleration for a classical spinning magnetic dipole in classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation

Abstract

A classical spinning magnetic dipole undergoing uniform acceleration through classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation is shown to behave at equilibrium as though immersed in a thermal bath at the Unruh-Davies temperature $T=\frac{\ensuremath{\hbar}a}{2\ensuremath{\pi}\mathrm{ck}}$. Although the electromagnetic field correlation functions seen by the uniformly accelerating dipole do not correspond to Planck's thermal radiation spectrum, the departure from Planckian form is canceled by additional terms arising in the relativistic radiation damping for the accelerating dipole. Thus the accelerating dipole behaves at equilibrium as though in an inertial frame bathed by exactly Planck's spectrum including zero-point radiation. An analogous result was reported recently for a classical harmonic oscillator undergoing uniform acceleration through classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation.