Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-optics-and-electrodynamics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/section-a/1/solution
Past exam of the optics and electrodynamics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Section A 1 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
The emission mechanism is Cherenkov radiation. An Electron moving faster than the phase velocity of light in the material excites electric polarization disturbances whose radiation adds coherently on a cone. This does not require the Electron to exceed the speed of light in vacuum. Taking as constant over the detected optical band, the Cherenkov cone angle satisfiesEmission requires . The detector accepts , soNumerically,The lower endpoint has vanishing Cherenkov radiation yield, and the upper endpoint is excluded by the stated strict angular acceptance. Faster Electrons emit at larger cone angles: at , , outside this detector's acceptance. The angular condition gives the accepted speed interval conditional on rays reaching the detector; no collection geometry or total signal yield is specified.
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