Document Type
Journal Article
Role
Author
Standard Number
0002-9505
Journal Title
American Journal of Physics
Volume
83
Issue
4
First Page
349
Last Page
352
Publication Date
2015
Abstract
Calculating the electromagnetic fields of a uniformly accelerated charged particle is a surprisingly subtle problem that has been long discussed in the literature. In particular, the fields calculated from the Liénard-Wiechert potentials fail to satisfy Maxwell's equations. While the correct fields have been obtained many times and through various means, it has remained unclear why the standard approach fails. We identify and amend the faulty step in the Liénard-Wiechert construction and provide a new direct calculation of the fields and potentials for acharge in hyperbolic motion.
Repository Citation
Daniel J. Cross. "Completing the Lienard-Wiechert potentials: The origin of the delta function fields for a charged particle in hyperbolic motion." American Journal of Physics 83 (4):349-352. 2015.