Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 37D iv Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Because is constant, . The coordinate speed along the circle is consequentlysoFor the convention in the question, take , so and .
On the circular solution, the free part of the relativistic charged-particle action isIn the gauge , the interaction is the closed line integralThe orbit is clockwise for , so . ThusCombining the two terms and using gives the charged-particle action over one relativistic cyclotron orbitAlthough the intermediate magnetic line integral depends on the chosen magnetic vector potential, the closed-orbit result is gauge invariant.