PH5211 Electrodynamics II ... (2-0-0) s ... 2Cr

offered in alternate years starting spring 2007

Prerequisite: PH5210 or permission of instructor.

Text (Spring, 2004):

• Classical Electrodynamics, 3 ^rd ed., J. D. Jackson (ISBN 0-471-30932-x)

Typical Syllabus

• Week 1. Scattering in the long wave length limit by single scatterers and collections of scatterers.
• Week 2. Mie scattering.
• Week 3. Scalar and vector diffraction theory.
• Week 4. Shorth wave length limit of scattering.
• Week 5. The optical theorem. Experimental basis for relativity. Einstein's postulate.
• Week 6. Galilean and Lorentz transformations, Doppler shifts, 4-vectors, space-time metric.
• Week 7. Velocity and momentum 4-vectors, relativistic mechanics, Lorentz transformation of tensors, generators of the Lorentz group.
• Week 8. Composition of non-parallel Lorentz boosts, Thomas precession.
• Week 9. Transformations of electric and magnetic fields, Lagrangians and Hamiltonians for charged particles in EM fields, particle motion in uniform electric and magnetic fields.
• Week 10. Particle drift in non-uniform magnetic fields, adiabatic invariance of the flux through particle orbit, the Darwin Lagrangian.
• Week 11. Solution of the wave equation in covariant form, charge density and current density as a 4-vector, scalar and vector potentials as a 4-vector.
• Week 12. The retarded potentials of a point charge, velocity and acceleration fields.
• Week 13. Power, angular distribution and frequency spectrum of radiation emitted by accelerated charges.
• Week 14. Radiation from accelerated charges (continued), energy loss of fast charged particles in a medium.
• Week 15. Density effect in energy loss, Cherenkov radiation.

Course Rationale
One of the core required courses for graduate degrees in Physics.