‘Sci 4621 ELECTROMAGNETISM LECTURE NOTES VIL Jn this section of the notes, we will tum to the discussion of the Lorentz; covariant fornmilation of ecctrodynamics. 7A Special Relativity ‘The fact that: the speed c of propagation of the ckectremagnetic waves predicted by Maxwal’s equations 4s a universal constant, independent of the motion of the source or of the detector of the waves was the basis on which Einstein built the special theory of relativity (1905). The basic postulate i that the fundamental Jaws of physics have the same farm no matter in which inertial frame they are expressed. What is special about the theory is that it restricts its formmilation to inertial frames of reference, Since inertial frames are in uniform rectilinear motion with respect to one another; the lavs of nature must preserve their form under the transformations of coordinates appropriate to passage frm one inertial frame (KX) to another (K?), where Ks moving unifomnly ina straight line with respect to K. Note that the fundamental laws of nature also preserve their farm under that change of coordinates, which results from a rotation of the frame of reference, which is most simply approdated by expressing them using the notation of vectors, For then so Tong as both sides of an equation are together scalar, or vector, or whatever as the case may be, the effect of a rotation is the same on both siles, andl what was true in one frame remains true in the rotated frame, The equation is areariant under rotations. It is alrendy clear that Macwell’s equations are indeed covariant under rotations, since we regard E, and B as vectors. We will see that they are also covariant under the boasts, Le., the transformations which ‘transform one inertial (JX) frame to another (K"). As usual, we suppose that the frames! AC and J? coincide at (= = 0, and conser a flash of light emanating from their common origin at the instant they coincide. ‘Then the (spherical) wave front deseribed in IC by Pt+yte2=eP will be desaibed in K’ by Papeeaet. ‘Hamogeneity and isotropy of space and homogeneity of time require a linear relationship between (2',/, 2',¢/) and (z,y, 2,1). If we have the “standard orientatiay” of the axes, so that the frames are parallel, with thar tdative motion along the 2- direction, then consistency of P4pP+ PsP ort ths 2ae2 with linearity of the transformation gives dt! =y(t- 82) wf =(0- 6d) uv dae whae 7 =Tplog, 9 = |B), B= ¥, and vis the rdative velocity of K” with respect to K. The mverse dations art t= 4(ct'+ 82!) r= +c!) yayTr parallel axes, but when Vis not necessarily along the a-direction, one has a =1(a-B-x) xf 99) $x — 9B where xj, = 388 is the component of x parelld to v and x1 = x= is the component perpendicular to v. 72, Four-Vectors We now introduce the notation Bas Se Sh SS fee 4 x and define the rapidity variable ¢ by y= oosh¢ (Go that: 6 = tanh), and then find that the equations for the Larenty transformation of the coordinates (with standard orientation of the axes) can be written as 2 =coshC2" —sinh¢ a! af = sinha + cosh a2 Bae ‘which is formally very similar to the transformation law for rotations (¢.g,, for a rotation through an ange @ about the 23= or z-axis); op aw =as6r! +sinda* a? = —sinO2! + 008027 Par, We aall any set of four quantities Vit, yx rotations a four-vector, thus 1,2,3 which transform in this fashion under boosts and, /® =cosh¢ V0 =sinh¢V? —sinh¢V° + ooh ¢V? =v? v3, Note that if V" and U# are the components of any two four-vectors, the combination =U? -V3u3 Vu VU is an invariant, that. is to say it is unchanged when one replaces V by V! and U by U!. We can call this ‘combination the (Lorentz) scalar product between the vectors, and write it as V-U=VU—-V-U. In partiadar dd de® dete — dada? = da? = Ce = |e? § imariant, and we writeit as ds? or as Cdr. ‘Two ‘nearby’ events in space-time, separated by dir" are said to be space-like separated iff (= if and only if) ds? < 0, or time-like separated iff ds? > 0, or rall- or lightlike- separated iff ds? and these notions are independent of the reference frame.7.3 Time Dilation and the Lorentz-FitzGerald Contraction Ea partide mows with a 3-velocity u(®) with respect to a frame K, then in the time interval dt (as determined in K) it changes its position by dx = u(t) dls so the space-time interval traversed is given by d? = dt! — |dx? = al? — wae? =e) =ede(a-4) =e MP, and this is invariant, Consider the instantaneous rest-frame, ves the frame in which the partide is instan- tanously at rest. In this frame, the time interval corresponding to dt is called dr, and evidently the space interval is zero, since the particle is at rest. Thus we have =VI-Rat, aut om which gives the relation betwen the time interval dr (the so-called proper time) as measumed by a clods moving with the particle, and the time interval dt as measured in the frame Kin which the instantaneous speed of the particle is u(t). Since 77> 1, we have -[ tas” - tots [Firs [yarn so that; moving clocks run slow. This is the phenomenon of time dilation. Likewise, if we consider a rod of length Z as measured in the frame KC in which it is at rest, its end point may be taken tobe at x=0, «= L. Events which occur at the encepoints thas have coordinates Pad Pad ‘These same events will, in frame A’ have coordinates w= w= (0-81) a (b= ) w=0 w=0 cid =O. ‘The length of the rod as determined in A" is the distance between simultaneous positions of its end-points i.e, one must set 1° = q¢t = 7(cT 2), and then the difference between the 2” cocrdinates of the enchpoints is @L - Ber) - (Pret) 9L+ Sa -cT) = L+ 5-8) And since +) > 1, this shows that I! < L, which is the Lorenta-FiteGerald contraction, 37A The Fourvelocity Since do is a four-veetor, and dr = L/P) (aK is a scalar, it follows that dot ____cdv a Te =-@ o h- ye de =o. (or better to say; Sevedocity u), this four-vector UV = 7ju(cyu) is called its U=%(e-w)=2. 75 Energy and Momentum ‘The non-relativistic definitions p = mu of manentum and KE= }mu? of kinetic energy are replaced, P= mgU = mjgt= mau together with BP =moU = moyue = Mae 0 that Pe = myc which may be recognised as the total rdativistic enengy I for a particle of restamass mg with speed u. Thus (E/c,p) is a fourvector = mo(U°,U), with = Eo? =p = n(OF —V] =U? = ni? so that ‘which shows that the total relativistic energy E has an expansion which leads off with the rest-mass contri= bution mo@ and has as its next term the nonselativistic kinetic energy p?/2mo = 4mou2. 7.6 Covariant and Contravariant: Vectors ‘The Lorentz, transformation rule can be expressed as a matrix equation ye. cosh —sinh¢ 0 0) (1 ya =snh¢ ash¢ 0 0) { ve}=t oo o° 10} ve, 0 o o \ ves 4whare the cements of the transformation matrix are oem or” A very useful convention, known as the Einstein summation convention, és to omit the summation sign in the previous equation and to write simply vhs MV, it being understood that whenever an index is repeated, it should be summed over: and whenever an index 45 repented it will always be once ‘up’, and once ‘down’. This form of the transformation rule & valid for any Lorentz. transformation, be it a boost oF a rotation or a combination of such. Any four-component object which transforms as Veo ve = Myye 38 a four-vector, and such a four-vector is called a contravariant four-vector, and is always written with the ‘index ‘up’. This is to distinguish it from another kind of four-vector, which is written with the index ‘down’. An example of this kind is given by the gradient of a scalar f. So if f is a scalar function, the set of its partial derivatives with respect to the coordinates ar Onl = Bea transforms as some sort of a vector — but not as a contravariant vector. This is dear fram consideration of df = 8,f dx, which is of course a scalar, and is thus some sort of a scalar product between the vector whose components are dr and the gradient with components 8,f. The transformation law can easily be derived from OL = Of oP Bee = Beh De which is just the chain rule for differentiation, So the new transformation law is 2 Ua UL = ‘oye and a vector with this transformation law is called a covariant vector. It is also clear that: we may write this . Uy = UA Paw 7 Tensor Either kind of vector is an example of a more general object called a tensor. A tensor is something which has a linear transformation rule, in this case (for a Lorentz. tensor) under the Lorents, group of transformations from one frame to ancther. The simplest kind of tensor is one for which the transformation says simply ‘no change’, ths S3S'=5, and this is characteristic of a salar, which may be called a tensor of rank zero. ‘The rank of a. tensor is ‘the mumber of indices it carries. So a vector is a tensor of rank 1, (And we need to specify whether those indices are contravariant or covariant.) A confravariant tensor of rank 2 is then a two-inelex quantity with Doth indices “up”, say M°, Sinoe each index ranges over the four possibilities (0,1,2,3), there are 4x 4 = 16 ‘components, and in general Mo° , The transformation law for such a tensor is, Me? MIO = At, APs M8, IF M% = 1M, the texsor is said to be symmetric and this symmetry is preserved in going from one frame ‘to another, Similarly if 100° =—M™, the tensor is sai to be antisymmetric, or skew symmetric, and again 5this property is independent of the reference frame, A symmettic second rank tensor has only 1Oindependent +4), an antisymmetric second rank tensor has six independent components. A covariant second rank tensor will be a two-index quantity like Fj, with transformation law Fw > Pav = Fe OY WAY. Also to be encountered are mira tensors of the second] rank, like D" with one contravariant and ane ‘covariant index, and the corresponding transformation rule Dg 4 DI%y =A DIs(N" Of special inteest isthe tensor given by: 1, wha a=6; B= {te otherwise. IF these are the values of its components in the frame K, then in the frame K’ they will be since thought of as a matrix, 6g is just the unit matrix. This means that 63 is an awariant tensor. {Tt is useful to think of the components V# of a contravariant vector arranged as a column, and then the transformation law may be given by matrix multiplication rules as VoVsav. Now the Lorentz transformations keep innvarant the form woven, +1, when a "as = {2 when a= O whnaZs. u PY = UV? = U9V3 =U psV9, where we define o #0; ‘Thus for any U,V we have UP NasV? =U jaa, so that AU ag ?sV8 =U meVE for every U,V which means that the coefficients of each and every Lorentz. transformation have to satisfy At tiga N95 = m5 Whitten in terms of matrices, this is ATA =m, 6where AT is the transpose of A. If 7 had been the unit matrix, this would be the condition that the matrsc ‘A was arthagonal; as itis, the matrix is said to be pseudo-orthagonal A consequence, which we shall neod later, is that the determinant of A is ane. The condition on the coefficients Ay abo states that qs may be regarded as the components of a constant second rank symmetrical covariant tensor. (Consider now any contravariant vector V#, and define Vj. by Vii =nwV"s ie Vo = V°,Vi = “V1, = -V2,V3 = -V°. It is then easy to see that Vj, transforms as a covariant foursvector. Thus the tensor Muy can be used to “lower” a contravariant index, thereby giving a covariant index. In an @aactly similar way, We may define the constant second rank symmetrical contravariant texsor with components 7p by +1, wav =O; {= haz 0 wAM ‘This tensor can be used to ‘raise’ a covariant index. JaV®, which sugepst arranging the components of a covariant: vector as a U;), and then the scalar product between the two vectors i also the matrix procuct Because the tensor nw also enters into the forrmila vo a(t) vB d?? = dt" hud”, it is called the metric tensor. In special relativity it is corstant, and space-time is flat, But in general rdativity the metic tensor is not constants one has ds? = do" quy(o)de’, and the metric tensor gj, determines the curvature of space-time, Constructed from the metric tensor and. its derivatives is a tenor G,,, Which is determined through Hinstein’s equations Gu = 8 in tems of the density of energy and momentum which appear as the components of the stress-enengy~ momentum tensor Tj. The constant x equals 87G/c, where Gis the (Newtonian) gravitational constant.