there was some discussion about a year ago (Jan. 2005) on accelerating charge (uniform rectilinear acceleration) and if it radiates or not. If it does and if the equivalence principle is true then also free-falling charges in a constant gravitational field should radiate according to the observers at rest. The February issue of AJP contains an article - "The radiation of a uniformly accelerated charge is beyond the horizon: A simple derivation" - which seems to answer the question.
The authors state and provide an analysis that inertial observers do detect radiation but co-moving observers (with respect to whom the free-falling charges are at rest) do not! Their explanation is that "the radiation field is confined to a spacetime region beyond a horizon that they cannot access". Moreover, they state that the concept of radiation has no absolute meaning and it depends both on the radiation field as well as the state of motion of the observer.
Does this seem right?
Regards,
Antti
Antti Savinainen, Ph.D., B.Ed.
Senior Lecturer in Physics and Mathematics
Kuopio Lyseo High School
Finland
E-mail: <antti.savinainen@kuopio.fi>
Website: <http://kotisivu.mtv3.fi/physics/>
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