Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/ib/paper-4/7h/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 ib Paper 4 7H Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For static fields, the Maxwell equations give and . Write . A gauge transformation leaves unchanged; choose to impose the Coulomb gauge. ThenFor a localized conserved current with the potential chosen to vanish at infinity, the supplied fundamental solution gives the magnetic vector potentialIts divergence vanishes by integration by parts and . For a filamentary loop the current integral becomes , soFor much larger than the fixed loop size, expand . The leading constant term integrates to zero because . ThereforeThe vector triple-product identity gives . Integrating the derivative of around the closed loop shows . ConsequentlyEquivalently, , where is the magnetic dipole moment. The leading displayed potential is of order ; the remainder is smaller by a factor .
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