RADIATION REACTION AND THE ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY-MOMENTUM OF MOVING RELATIVISTIC CHARGED MEMBRANES

The charged membrane of Dirac provides a stable electron model with fi nite self-energy. Its total mass m has been previously calculated from the Hamiltonian of the membrane. To complete the picture we evaluate it here on the basis of the energy-momentum of its self-field (radiati on reaction) and obtain the same result showing the consistency of the model. We show explicitly that the old 4/3-problem does not arise. Th e electron's stability (the vanishing of total T(munu),nu) is due to s urface tension kappa of the membrane, but the model is as simple as th e point particle, with two parameters kappa and e; the surface tension parameter kappa can be expressed in terms of the mass m.