Radiation pressure on a moving body : beyond the Doppler effect

Abstract

The dependence of macroscopic radiation pressure on the velocity of the object being pushed is commonly attributed to the Doppler effect. This need not be the case, and here we highlight velocity-dependent radiation pressure terms that have their origins in the mixing of s and p polarizations brought about by the Lorentz transformation between the lab and the material rest frame, rather than in the corresponding transformation of frequency and wavevector. The theory we develop may be relevant to the nano-optomechanics of moving bodies.