This thesis starts from giving a brief summary of literature survey on radiation, radiation reaction and Unruh effect. Using the Green function technique, the reaction force of a classical accelerated point charge is calculated and compared with the well known result. We next move to quantum mechanics where we compute the self-energy of 1+3 dimensional Dirac electron and 1+1 dimensional Dirac. Using a simple model of a free electron in a constant electric field, the dissipation of an accelerated electron represented by the imaginary part of its self-energy is calculated. After that, the dissipation of electron in a thermal bath of boson is calculated and compared with the result of an accelerated electron. It is found that there is a closed relation between the acceleration of the elect...[ Read more ]

This thesis starts from giving a brief summary of literature survey on radiation, radiation reaction and Unruh effect. Using the Green function technique, the reaction force of a classical accelerated point charge is calculated and compared with the well known result. We next move to quantum mechanics where we compute the self-energy of 1+3 dimensional Dirac electron and 1+1 dimensional Dirac. Using a simple model of a free electron in a constant electric field, the dissipation of an accelerated electron represented by the imaginary part of its self-energy is calculated. After that, the dissipation of electron in a thermal bath of boson is calculated and compared with the result of an accelerated electron. It is found that there is a closed relation between the acceleration of the electron in the former case with the temperature of the thermal bath in the latter case, demonstrating the equivalence principle of the Unruh effect.