(Course description last updated for academic year 2021-22).
Prerequisites

Note that the later parts of this course depends on material from the Part II “Relativity” course, which runs in parallel with this in the Michaelmas Term.

Learning Outcomes and Assessment

By the end of this course, you will be familiar with the theory of classical and relativistic electrodynamics and be able to apply it to understand a very broad range of phenomena in classical optics, radiation and antenna physics as well as modern relativistic electrodynamic phenomena occurring in high energy particle acceperators. You will understand how the electrodynamic theory described by Maxwell's equations is inherently consistent with the theory of special relativity. Electrodynamics is one of the most important theories in physics on which many of the more modern and advanced theories that you will encounter later in Part II and III, such as quantum electrodynamics and general quantum field theories, will build. Although the basic theory was formulated more than 100 years ago it is a surprisingly modern topic with many applications in modern physics research in fields ranging from nanophotonics to stellar interferometry. 

Synopsis

Electromagnetic Waves: Revision of Electromagnetism; Maxwell’s equations; EM energy; vector potential; boundary conditions; EM waves; polarization.

Optics: Polarized light; partial polarization. Light in media; anisotropic media; polarizers; waveplates; optical activity, Faraday rotation. Coherence: power-spectrum and examples; partial coherence; temporal coherence; fourier-transform spectroscopy; spatial coherence; imaging interferometry.

Electrodynamics: Vector potential A; calculation of A in simple cases; Aharonov-Bohm effect; flux quantization. Maxwell’s equations in terms of A and φ; choice of gauge; wave equations for A and φ; general solution; retarded potentials.

Radiation: Time-varying fields; radiation. Hertzian dipole; power radiated; angular distribution; magnetic dipoles; electric quadrupole.

Antennas: Effective area; radiation resistance; power-pattern. Antenna arrays in astrophysics, radar.

Scattering: Light scattering; cross-section Thomson and Rayleigh scattering; denser media.

Relativistic Electrodynamics: Charges and currents; 4-current; 4-potential; transformation of E and B; covariance of Maxwell's equations; magnetism as a relativistic effect; Relationship with other field theories

Radiation and Relativistic Electrodynamics: Fields of a uniformly moving charge; Cerenkov radiation; accelerated charges; Larmor and Lienard formulae; cyclotron and synchrotron radiation 

 

BOOKS

Optics, Hecht E (4th edn Addison Wesley 2002)

Optical Physics, Lipson S G, Lipson H & Tannhauser D S (3rd edn CUP1995)

Electromagnetic Fields and Waves, Lorrain P & Corson D R (3rd edn Freeman 1998)

Classical Electrodynamics, Jackson J D (3rd edn Wiley 1998)

 

 

Course section:

Other Information

Staff
Prof Chris HaniffLecturer