Non-equilibrium statistical mechanicso of synchroton-Cerenkov radiation

The synergic synchrotron-Cerenkov (SC) radiation emitted by a relativistic charged particle under the combined effect of the constant external magnetic field and the collective interactions in the ambient plasma (medium) is given in the framework of the non-equilibrium statistical mechanics developed by Prigogine and his co-workers. Starting from the formal solution of the Liouville equation, the one-particle distribution function is calculated. Restricting the motion of the test particle to a circular orbit in the plane normal to the magnetic field, we use the above distribution function to calculate the power emitted per unit solid angle by the test particle as a function of time. We have thus obtained the time evolution of the synergic SC radiation which in the asymptotic limit reproduces the results of Schwinger and his co-workers. It is also shown that the collective interactions within the system produces a shift in the frequency of the outcoming radiation. (orig.)