71 research outputs found
Trouble with the Lorentz law of force: Incompatibility with special relativity and momentum conservation
The Lorentz law of force is the fifth pillar of classical electrodynamics,
the other four being Maxwell's macroscopic equations. The Lorentz law is the
universal expression of the force exerted by electromagnetic fields on a volume
containing a distribution of electrical charges and currents. If electric and
magnetic dipoles also happen to be present in a material medium, they are
traditionally treated by expressing the corresponding polarization and
magnetization distributions in terms of bound-charge and bound-current
densities, which are subsequently added to free-charge and free-current
densities, respectively. In this way, Maxwell's macroscopic equations are
reduced to his microscopic equations, and the Lorentz law is expected to
provide a precise expression of the electromagnetic force density on material
bodies at all points in space and time. This paper presents incontrovertible
theoretical evidence of the incompatibility of the Lorentz law with the
fundamental tenets of special relativity. We argue that the Lorentz law must be
abandoned in favor of a more general expression of the electromagnetic force
density, such as the one discovered by A. Einstein and J. Laub in 1908. Not
only is the Einstein-Laub formula consistent with special relativity, it also
solves the long-standing problem of "hidden momentum" in classical
electrodynamics.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur
characteristic wave velocities in spherical electromagnetic cloaks
We investigate the characteristic wave velocities in spherical electromagnetic cloaks, namely, phase, ray, group and energy-transport velocities. After deriving explicit expressions for the phase and ray velocities (the latter defined as the phase velocity along the direction of the Poynting vector), special attention is given to the determination of group and energy-transport velocities, because a cursory application of conventional formulae for local group and energy-transport velocities can lead to a discrepancy between these velocities if the permittivity and permeability dyadics are not equal over a frequency range about the center frequency. In contrast, a general theorem can be proven from Maxwell's equations that the local group and energy-transport velocities are equal in linear, lossless, frequency dispersive, source-free bianisotropic material. This apparent paradox is explained by showing that the local fields of the spherical cloak uncouple into an E wave and an H wave, each with its own group and energy-transport velocities, and that the group and energy-transport velocities of either the E wave or the H wave are equal and thus satisfy the general theorem
Radiative damping: a case study
We are interested in the motion of a classical charge coupled to the Maxwell
self-field and subject to a uniform external magnetic field, B. This is a
physically relevant, but difficult dynamical problem, to which contributions
range over more than one hundred years. Specifically, we will study the
Sommerfeld-Page approximation which assumes an extended charge distribution at
small velocities. The memory equation is then linear and many details become
available. We discuss how the friction equation arises in the limit of "small"
B and contrast this result with the standard Taylor expansion resulting in a
second order equation for the velocity of the charge.Comment: 4 figure
On the Solutions of the Lorentz-Dirac Equation
We discuss the unstable character of the solutions of the Lorentz-Dirac
equation and stress the need of methods like order reduction to derive a
physically acceptable equation of motion. The discussion is illustrated with
the paradigmatic example of the non-relativistic harmonic oscillator with
radiation reaction. We also illustrate removal of the noncasual
pre-acceleration with the introduction of a small correction in the
Lorentz-Dirac equation.Comment: 4 eps figs. to be published in GR
On the motion of a classical charged particle
We show that the Lorentz-Dirac equation is not an unavoidable consequence of
energy-momentum conservation for a point charge. What follows solely from
conservation laws is a less restrictive equation already obtained by Honig and
Szamosi. The latter is not properly an equation of motion because, as it
contains an extra scalar variable, it does not determine the future evolution
of the charge. We show that a supplementary constitutive relation can be added
so that the motion is determined and free from the troubles that are customary
in Lorentz-Dirac equation, i. e. preacceleration and runaways
Self-forces on extended bodies in electrodynamics
In this paper, we study the bulk motion of a classical extended charge in
flat spacetime. A formalism developed by W. G. Dixon is used to determine how
the details of such a particle's internal structure influence its equations of
motion. We place essentially no restrictions (other than boundedness) on the
shape of the charge, and allow for inhomogeneity, internal currents,
elasticity, and spin. Even if the angular momentum remains small, many such
systems are found to be affected by large self-interaction effects beyond the
standard Lorentz-Dirac force. These are particularly significant if the
particle's charge density fails to be much greater than its 3-current density
(or vice versa) in the center-of-mass frame. Additional terms also arise in the
equations of motion if the dipole moment is too large, and when the
`center-of-electromagnetic mass' is far from the `center-of-bare mass' (roughly
speaking). These conditions are often quite restrictive. General equations of
motion were also derived under the assumption that the particle can only
interact with the radiative component of its self-field. These are much simpler
than the equations derived using the full retarded self-field; as are the
conditions required to recover the Lorentz-Dirac equation.Comment: 30 pages; significantly improved presentation; accepted for
publication in Phys. Rev.
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