Past exam of the collisionless plasma physics course of the University of Oxford 2025 1 e Solution 2026-10-25
An electrostatic plasma wave has . In the absence of externally imposed charge density, the Gauss law for the magnetized cold-plasma dielectric tensor is . Consequently,The antisymmetric terms of the magnetized cold-plasma dielectric tensor cancel in this scalar contraction. For oblique propagation this is the leading longitudinal condition in the large-refractive index approximation; a small transverse electric field is generally required by the full Maxwell equations at finite . For parallel propagation an exactly longitudinal solution exists: , hence . It coincides with the limit of the finite-coefficient plasma wave resonance condition in c. At exactly , factors out of the transverse dispersion relation, leaving the independent plasma oscillation rather than an isolated divergence of the transverse branches.
Past exam of the condensed matter physics course of the University of Oxford 2014 3 a Solution 2026-10-25
An intrinsic semiconductor has its carrier populations set primarily by thermal excitation across the band gap; in the ideal pure, neutral case its conduction-electron and hole densities are equal, . An extrinsic semiconductor has carrier populations significantly controlled by donor or acceptor impurities, producing predominantly n-type semiconductor or p-type semiconductor behavior. Chemical purity alone does not fix conductivity independently of temperature and gap size.
The positive charge carrier mobility is the magnitude of mean drift speed per unit weak electric field. For electrons , for holes , and its SI unit is . In an isotropic relaxation-time model, .
A band effective mass characterizes how an electron wave packet accelerates in an energy band, rather than replacing its vacuum rest mass. In one dimension and its tensor generalization,These follow by differentiating and using . Effective masses can be anisotropic and electron band curvature can be negative.
Past exam of the condensed matter physics course of the University of Oxford 2014 3 b ii Solution 2026-10-25
Removing an electron of charge leaves charge relative to the filled-band reference. This also reproduces the current. If the missing electron state had velocity , subtracting its contribution from the zero current of a filled band givesThe hole dispersion with gives , soLikewise becomes . Positive hole charge and positive hole effective mass consistently describe drift along the electric field, while the valence electrons themselves drift through an almost full band. A hole is a quasiparticle, not a proton moving through the crystal.
Past exam of the condensed matter physics course of the University of Oxford 2014 3 e Solution 2026-10-25
Neglect the battery's internal resistance, contact drops and the very small resistance of laboratory-length metal leads. The germanium resistance and field areTaking the positive direction along the electric field, the carrier drift velocities areTheir conventional current densities add: and . Thus is the same total current through either metal lead. The current continuity between a metal and an intrinsic semiconductor givesThe metal electrons move opposite its conventional current. This extremely small drift speed is compatible with large microscopic Fermi velocities; drift is the small imbalance of the occupied momentum distribution.
The wire lengths were not specified. Their resistance per metre is , so neglecting them relative to is justified for an ordinary apparatus. If finite total wire length is retained, the exact ideal-contact circuit expression is with in metres; all three drift magnitudes above scale with . Thus the approximation and its missing geometric input are explicit.
For ion pairs per unit volume, a relative displacement produces ionic polarization . Solving the driven Lorentz oscillator model with the source's convention givesThe constant includes the fast electronic response: infinity here means well above the phonon band but below electronic resonances. Writing makes the numerator . In an undamped longitudinal mode the bulk displacement field vanishes without an external free charge, so a nonzero electric field requires . ThereforeThis is the Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation for the single polar mode.
At normal incidence from vacuum the Fresnel equations giveBelow the transverse resonance the dielectric response increases, raising reflectivity. Between the transverse and longitudinal frequencies the undamped dielectric function is negative, giving an evanescent transmitted wave and nearly total reflection: the Reststrahlen band. Above the longitudinal edge it becomes small and positive, passing through at the reflectivity minimum and eventually approaching its electronic background.
Reading the original graph to its limited precision gives and , hence and . Extrapolating the low-energy reflectivity to roughly givesValues around – and – are appropriate to this graphical estimate. Neither the dip near nor the finite-energy right endpoint represents the high-frequency asymptote; treating that endpoint as would underestimate .
At , with . Weak damping gives , so for the complex refractive index ,Squaring and substituting provesUse the reflectivity at the estimated transverse resonance, not automatically the plateau maximum. A representative reading , with , gives , andGraphical uncertainty in the transverse edge makes this only a few-picosecond estimate: readings – give approximately –. The displacement amplitude decays as and has lifetime ; phonon occupation/energy decays as and has lifetime . Anharmonic forces allow an optical phonon to decay into two lower-energy phonons when energy and crystal momentum are conserved. Spontaneous decay can persist at low temperature; defects and electron–phonon scattering can add further linewidth.
At the zone centre, the dynamical matrix commutes with the point-group representation on displacements. An irreducible representation of dimension two enforces a doublet; distinct one-dimensional representations need not have equal frequencies. The tetragonal point group has two-dimensional and representations, so optical modes transforming that way are doubly degenerate at the centre. Atomic positions and the displacement representation would be needed to assign every optical branch to a particular representation; the point-group label alone is not a complete mode decomposition.
For propagation along the tetragonal fourfold axis, the two transverse acoustic polarizations transform together and have equal sound speeds and frequencies. For example , whereas the longitudinal speed is independent. An optical doublet may split away from the centre along a direction whose little group has only one-dimensional representations. It need not remain degenerate at every nearby wavevector.
All irreducible representations of are one-dimensional, so the orthorhombic point group enforces no analogous optical doublet or equality of transverse sound speeds. The three acoustic frequencies are nevertheless all zero at the exact centre in both crystals, because of translations; that common zero is not evidence that their slopes are equal. Accidental equalities remain possible. For a polar crystal, a direction-dependent macroscopic electric field also distinguishes longitudinal from transverse infrared-active limits; an analytic zone-centre symmetry classification alone does not remove LO–TO splitting.
Seek the steady forced displacement as . The oscillator equation givesFor ion pairs per volume, the ionic polarization is . Add the electronic polarization , assumed frequency-independent over this infrared range. The complex relative permittivity is thereforeFor a longitudinal free oscillation without external free charge, and the longitudinal electric field requires in the lossless limit. HenceEliminating the microscopic oscillator strength givesHere denotes the undamped longitudinal frequency; with finite damping the zero is at a complex frequency. The sign of the imaginary term follows the stated convention and gives positive absorptive for , . At zero frequency the same model yields the Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation . The high-frequency limit here is above the phonon resonance but below electronic resonances, not arbitrarily high photon energy.
The Hall-plateau voltmeter calibration is obtained as follows. Let be a plateau height in displayed units after any voltage offset is removed, with identified integer plateau index . The true Hall voltage is , so the calibration factor would beThe nominal current is . If several plateau heights are available, their inverse-integer ratios help identify indices and a fit of against can separate a constant offset from the gain. Reversing magnetic field and antisymmetrizing the voltage also removes an even offset. A unique absolute index should not be asserted solely from an unspecified sequence of steps.
For an established exact integer and independent current and height errors,The current alone contributes relative uncertainty; it is a common calibration uncertainty and does not average away by fitting more plateaux. Voltage-offset uncertainty and deviations from quantization must also be included where relevant. The width cancels because the Hall voltage divided by current is a sheet Hall resistance; it would enter the transverse electric field, not this calibration.
TODO — missing source data: the held PDF's last-page stream refers to an absent
/Im6 graphic, and its recovery log reports an unknown XObject. The supplied TeX records the same source gap. No plateau heights, labels or axis values survive, so neither a numerical nor a unique can be read. The numerical voltmeter calibration and its complete graph-reading error cannot be supplied without that graph; the formula and known current contribution above are determined. Past exam of the electromagnetism and optics course of the University of Oxford 2016 3 Solution 2026-10-25
Take as the centre-to-centre separation and . Use the ideal lossless two-conductor transmission line model, with nonmagnetic surroundings and negligible internal-wire inductance. Opposite line charges and approximate the cylindrical conductors when . Integrating their electric fields, or adding their logarithmic electric potentials, gives the potential differenceThis is the two-wire capacitance at large separation. For opposite electric currents and , the magnetic fields between the wires add. The linked magnetic flux per unit length is approximatelyThus the external inductance of a thin two-wire line is . The lossless telegrapher's equations give a forward wave with , so its characteristic impedance isThe product also gives the propagation speed , an independent consistency check. The exact ideal external-field geometry replaces by . If the wire separation were specified between surfaces, its centre separation would be , with the same leading large-separation result. Finite electrical conductivity and internal-wire magnetic energy require a more detailed line model.
Past exam of the electromagnetism and optics course of the University of Oxford 2016 7 Solution 2026-10-25
Write and for homogeneous scalar material constants, and use . Taking the curl of Faraday's law of induction and substituting the Ampere-Maxwell law givesThe vector calculus identity for a double curl therefore yieldsThe second term represents electric current response, rather than displacement current. A dispersive is used in the frequency domain; its general time-domain counterpart is a temporal response convolution.
For the convention , the plane wave equation isDecompose the electric field into components parallel and perpendicular to . With , the longitudinal eigenvalue is and each transverse eigenvalue is ; thus the determinant is . For a transverse electromagnetic wave, andwhen and the background . A real dissipative electrical conductivity generally makes complex, with the decaying branch chosen for a passive medium.
For a cold, collisionless, unmagnetized plasma, treat ions as stationary and write for the magnitude of the elementary charge. The electron equation of motion is , soThis reactive response includes no collision-induced Joule heating. Substitution into the transverse dispersion relation givesThe quantity is the electron plasma frequency. The refractive index is real above this cutoff; below it, the wave is evanescent. The electron response is represented here by , so it must not also be counted a second time in the background permittivity.
For a nonzero longitudinal component, taking the dot product of the matrix equation with instead gives . The same cold plasma response makes , henceAt nonzero , the remaining equation forces to be parallel to , and Faraday's law of induction gives . These are electrostatic Langmuir waves, with no dependence of angular frequency in the zero-temperature model. Equilibrium neutrality does not forbid their perturbed charge density; Gauss's law requires such a density when .
Past exam of the electromagnetism course of the University of Oxford 2023 1 a iii Solution 2026-10-25
Integrate the surface charge density using the surface integral in spherical coordinates:Since , the elementary integral isSubstitution yields the total induced electric chargeThe equality with the image charge also follows by applying Gauss's law to the exterior electric field: the physical and fictitious descriptions give the same electric flux through a sphere enclosing the conductor but excluding the physical point charge.
Past exam of the electromagnetism course of the University of Oxford 2023 1 a ii Solution 2026-10-25
Let be the unit normal from the electrical conductor into the vacuum. The electrostatic boundary conditions at a conductor, together with the vanishing interior electric field, giveWrite in spherical coordinates, on , and . Differentiating the electric potential at fixed angles givesHere the distance identity in the preceding answer was used before simplifying. Hence the induced surface charge density isFor positive this surface charge density is negative everywhere, with largest magnitude nearest the point charge.
The image charge for a grounded conducting sphere is obtained by the Kelvin transform:It lies inside the electrical conductor, outside the region where it represents the physical electric field. The electric potential isAt the physical point charge, the electric potential has its usual Coulomb's law singularity. There is no physical singularity at the image charge: the interior expression is identically zero.
For , direct expansion of squared distances givesConsequently the two terms cancel exactly, proving the zero Dirichlet boundary condition on the sphere. At infinity each term is , and more explicitlyThus the Dirichlet boundary condition at infinity also holds. The candidate solves the Poisson equation with the one physical point charge; uniqueness of Poisson equation, with these Dirichlet boundary conditions, identifies it as the required electric potential.
Past exam of the electromagnetism course of the University of Oxford 2023 1 b ii Solution 2026-10-25
Choose a spherical Gaussian surface of radius with . Its physical enclosed electric charge is the total induced electric charge on the inner sphere. The method of images produces the same electric field on that Gaussian surface, so Gauss's law identifies with the sum of the enclosed image charges. These are the first family with and the second family with :Summing these geometric series givesThe electric field in the empty central cavity vanishes by electrostatic shielding, so it contributes no additional inner-face surface charge density. The formula tends to as and to zero as , as expected when the point charge approaches one grounded boundary or the other.
Put and . The complete construction of image charges between concentric grounded spheres consists of two families, indexed by every integer:The term is the physical point charge; every other term is an image charge. In the first family lies inside and lies outside . In the second family lies inside and lies outside . Thus no image charge lies in the physical gap.
To derive and verify these families, reflection of an axial point charge in a grounded sphere of radius replaces it by the image charge . Reflection in sends to ; reflection in sends it to . Successive reflections therefore generate exactly the listed families. The method of images givesThe physical point charge itself is excluded when evaluating this formula. On , pair the first-family term with the second-family term ; their electric potentials cancel by the single-sphere distance identity. On , pair with instead. These reindexings are justified by absolute convergence, as follows.
For , both source positions tend to the origin while their electric charges have size . On the closed gap their distances are eventually at least , so both electric potential terms are . For , both distances are at least a positive constant times and the electric charges are , giving terms. Both tails are bounded by convergent geometric series. This proves absolute convergence and uniform convergence of the tails on the closed gap. On any compact set avoiding the physical point charge, the differentiated tails obey the same type of bounds: for example, the large positive tail of the electric field is . Thus termwise differentiation is valid and the sum is a harmonic function except at the physical point charge, where it has the correct Coulomb's law singularity. The boundary cancellations and uniqueness of Poisson equation complete the construction.
Translate the concentric spheres so that their centre is , take , and keep the point charge fixed at . Its distance from the centre is . As , the upper portions of the inner and outer spheres approach the planes and . The preceding total induced electric charge becomesThe outer sphere has total induced electric charge : a Gaussian surface within its conducting material has zero electric flux, and the grounded exterior is field-free by uniqueness of Poisson equation. Therefore .
One can justify the total-charge limit without assuming that local convergence of electric fields preserves their surface integrals. Use induced charge as harmonic measure: if a harmonic function is one on the selected grounded boundary and zero on the other, Green's second identity with the electric potential givesIndeed, , on the boundaries, and their unit normal outward from the gap satisfies . For the spheres the weighting harmonic function is , exactly the factor already obtained. For the slab the two weighting harmonic functions are and . Applying the same identity to the decaying grounded-slab electric potential, whose boundary term at lateral infinity vanishes, establishes directlyTheir sum is , and their relative sizes measure how close the point charge lies to each grounded plane.
Use the constitutive relations and , where is the electric displacement field, the magnetic field strength, the permittivity, and the magnetic permeability. Let be the charge density of free charge and its current density. In this homogeneous medium, Gauss's law and the magnetostatic Ampère law are, respectively,Here is a volume with closed boundary , and is an oriented spanning surface whose boundary orientation follows the right-hand rule. Thus the electric field form is and ; the magnetic field form is and .
The remaining static Maxwell equations areThese express Gauss's law for magnetism and the static limit of Faraday's law. The volume and circulation forms follow from the divergence theorem and Stokes theorem. The electric charge and electric current on the right of the macroscopic laws are free sources; material electric polarization and magnetization are already included in and .
Past exam of the electromagnetism course of the University of Oxford 2023 2 b ii Solution 2026-10-25
For this radially layered coaxial cable, defineUse the solution regular at the axis with bounded exterior electric potential, so that the empty interior and exterior have the constant electric potentials fixed by their adjacent conducting cylinders.
There is no free charge in either electrical insulator or on their interface. Gauss's law and continuity of normal electric displacement field give in both layers. The electric potential difference fixes the constant becauseThe electric potential, including the empty regions bounded by the conducting cylinders, is thereforeBoth inner and outer Dirichlet boundary conditions hold, and the electric potential is continuous at the material interface, whereTaking the negative gradient of the electric potential yieldsThe radial electric field generally jumps at , but , as required by the absence of free surface charge density there. The conducting cylinders carry opposite linear charge densities and .
For an Amperian loop of radius , the enclosed electric current is zero, , or zero according as , , or . The magnetostatic Ampère law therefore gives in the gap, and zero outside. Using the two magnetic permeabilities,The tangential magnetic field strength is continuous at the material interface, while the tangential magnetic field need not be. At each ideal conducting surface and at the material interface, the displayed electric field and magnetic field formulas specify one-sided limits; a single interface value is unnecessary when the limiting values differ.
Work in cylindrical coordinates and use the assumed independence of and . In each material region, the zero curl of the static electric field givesThe tangential electric field is zero at a perfect conductor. The dielectric-interface boundary conditions make its tangential components continuous at each material interface, so throughout the gap. They also vanish in the empty interior and exterior for the regular solution with no applied external electric field. HenceThis specifies an axis of direction: the sign of depends on the sign of .
For the static magnetic field, Gauss's law for magnetism impliesThus is constant in each layer. Continuity of the normal magnetic field across every interface makes that constant global, and regularity at the axis makes it zero. Next use away from the conducting surfaces. Its component gives . There is no azimuthal surface current density, so is continuous across the conducting surfaces and the material interface. The decay of the exterior magnetic field at infinity therefore forces this global constant to zero. The only remaining component isThe magnetostatic Ampère law fixes its sign: positive inner electric current in the direction produces positive for positive magnetic permeability.
Orient the unit normal from to and write for the magnetic field strength. For static electric fields, ; the static Ampère's law gives . The curl product rule therefore gives the local Poynting flux and terminal power identityIntegrate over an oriented piece of the separating surface and apply Stokes theorem:Once all the wires are included, the first surface integral is : the electric potential is constant on each perfect conductor and the integral of its normal current density is its signed electric current. Equivalently, remove the wire cross-sections and apply Stokes theorem in the surrounding insulator. Each resulting hole has negative boundary orientation, and the magnetostatic Ampère law around it gives the positive contribution .
For a closed separating surface the boundary term is absent. For a noncompact separating surface, take with the usual isolated-circuit condition . In either case,For a steady closed circuit the signed electric currents sum to zero, so shifting the reference of electric potential does not change the terminal power.
For a fully general noncompact surface, the hypotheses as printed need an additional condition at infinity. The exact result before imposing it isTime independence alone does not remove this boundary term or ensure a finite Poynting flux; for example, spatially constant crossed electric fields and magnetic fields carry a constant Poynting vector through an infinite plane. The stated terminal-power formula holds with the boundary condition specified above.