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A driver excites charge-density oscillations in a plasma whose longitudinal electric field transfers energy to a trailing witness beam. Density fixes a characteristic plasma frequency and wavelength, while driver shape and loading determine the actual field and transfer efficiency.

A p-n junction joins regions of a semiconductor with opposite majority charge carriers: electrons on one side and electron holes on the other. It provides the junction modeled by the Shockley diode equation.

Near an unbiased p-n junction, diffusion leaves exposed ionized donor impurities and acceptor impurities. Their electric field opposes further majority-carrier transfer. At thermal equilibrium, drift and diffusion balance; there is no net electric current. Forward bias reduces the barrier to carrier injection; reverse bias enlarges it. A heavily doped tunnel diode adds a different transport route, quantum tunnelling, that the ordinary Shockley diode equation omits.

The linear response relating an induced electric dipole moment to an applied electric field. In ordinary nonresonant Raman spectroscopy, changes in its symmetric components during a normal mode determine activity. These components transform like $x^2,y^2,z^2,xy,xz,yz$.

The polarization ellipse is the curve traced by the transverse electric field of a monochromatic wave at a fixed point. Its orientation and signed ratio of minor to major semiaxis specify a pure polarization. A zero minor semiaxis gives linear polarization, and equal semiaxes give circular polarization.

For reflection or refraction at a flat isotropic interface, p-polarization has its electric field in the incidence plane and perpendicular to its wavevector. At a lossless nonmagnetic dielectric interface, its reflected amplitude vanishes at Brewster's angle. This does not mean that its field is generally parallel to the interface surface.

For reflection or refraction at a flat isotropic interface, s-polarization has its electric field perpendicular to the plane containing the incident wavevector and interface normal. At an isotropic dielectric boundary it is an eigenpolarization of the Fresnel reflection problem. The label is relative to the specified interface, not an absolute direction in space.

Radiation polarized along the static field drives the zero-projection change, while transverse polarization supplies the two circular components with projection changes plus or minus one. The opposite signs of the excited magnetic quantum number remain degenerate in a pure static electric field; they need not be separate spectral lines.

Polarization of waves describes the direction and time-dependent geometry of a transverse wave's vector during its oscillation at a fixed position. In three spatial dimensions, a transverse wave can have two independent directions of oscillation, both perpendicular to its direction of propagation. For polarization of an electromagnetic wave, the relevant vector is the transverse electric field; for a mechanical transverse wave, it can be the transverse displacement. A purely longitudinal wave has no choice between these transverse directions, and the orientation of a static electric field is not polarization of waves.

Choose transverse axes $x,y$ in a Cartesian coordinate system. A monochromatic wave with a fixed phase difference has the real electric fieldHere $A_x,A_y$ are wave amplitudes, $\omega$ is the angular frequency, and $\delta$ is the phase difference of the $y$ oscillation relative to the $x$ oscillation. The vector's tip traces its path during the wave period $T=2\pi /\omega$. Both plotted coordinates are real electric field components; neither axis represents the imaginary part of a complex amplitude.

For nonzero wave amplitudes, $\delta =0$ or $\pi$ modulo $2\pi$ gives linear polarization: the vector moves back and forth along a fixed line. Equal nonzero wave amplitudes and $\delta =\pm \pi /2$ modulo $2\pi$ give circular polarization: the tip traces a circle of constant radius. Unequal nonzero wave amplitudes with $\delta =\pm \pi /2$ give a noncircular ellipse whose axes coincide with $x,y$. More generally, nonzero wave amplitudes and $\sin \delta \ne 0$ give elliptical polarization, with circular polarization as a special case. If exactly one wave amplitude vanishes, the nonzero wave has linear polarization for every $\delta$; if both vanish, there is no nonzero wave to assign a polarization of waves. ^[ref].

For example, take $\omega =2\pi {\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, so the wave period is $T=1\mathrm{s}$. The choices $(A_x,A_y,\delta )=(2,1,0)$, $(1,1,\pi /2)$ and $(2,1,\pi /2)$, with electric field wave amplitudes in $V/m$, produce respectively the line segment $E_y=E_x/2$, the circle $E_x^2+E_y^2=1$ and the ellipse $E_x^2/4+E_y^2=1$, when coordinates are measured in $V/m$. At $t=T/4$, their tips are respectively $(0,0)$, $(0,-1)$ and $(0,-1)V/m$. The last two share a point without having the same path.

Resolving the electric field into two transverse components makes polarization of waves useful: the same frequency and wave amplitudes can describe different paths when their phase difference changes. An ideal linear polarizer selects the component along its pass axis, letting its orientation probe the direction of linear polarization through Malus's law. A fixed pair of wave amplitudes and a fixed phase difference describe one stable path; unpolarized light requires a statistical description rather than one fixed ellipse.

For static electric fields and magnetic fields, Ampère's law and $\mathbf{E}=-\nabla \varphi$ give $\mathcal{P}=\mathbf{E}\times \mathbf{H}=\varphi {\mathbf{J}}_f-\nabla \times (\varphi \mathbf{H})$. Stokes theorem on an oriented separating surface then giveswhere each perfect conductor crossing it has constant electric potential ${\varphi }_k$ and signed electric current $I_k$. The line term is absent for a closed surface and must vanish in the limiting sense at infinity for a noncompact surface. Under that condition the incoming Poynting flux equals terminal power. If the signed electric currents sum to zero, the result is independent of the reference for electric potential.

For circular plates of radius $a$, separation $d\ll a$, and a thin axial resistor $R$, the quasistatic capacitance is $C={\epsilon }_0\pi a^2/d$. During discharge, $I=V/R=-C\dot{V}$. A circular Ampere-Maxwell law contour between the plates encloses wire current $I$ and opposing displacement current $-I{r}^2/a^2$, giving $H=I(1-r^2/a^2)/(2\pi r)$. The electric field has magnitude $V/d$, so the Poynting vector points radially inward with magnitude $V^2(1-r^2/a^2)/(2\pi rdR)$. Its flux through the cylindrical side is the displayed inward power. The field inside that cylinder releases $V^2{r}^2/(R{a}^2)$ per unit time; adding the incoming flux gives the resistor's full Joule heating rate $V^2/R$. End fringing, wire radius and magnetic-energy corrections are neglected.

The quadratic Stark effect is an energy level shift whose leading term is quadratic in an applied electric field. For a nondegenerate energy eigenstate of definite parity, the diagonal matrix element of an odd electric-dipole perturbation vanishes. Second-order nondegenerate perturbation theory givesEvery term is negative for the ground state. If field reversal is implemented by the parity operator, an analytic nondegenerate energy branch is even in the field. This symmetry explains the absence of odd powers; it does not apply without qualification to a degeneracy split linearly by the field.

Fix a detected position and polarization of waves. Write the electric field operator as $\hat{E}(t)={\hat{E}}^{(+)}(t)+{\hat{E}}^{(-)}(t)$, where the positive-frequency part contains annihilation operators and ${\hat{E}}^{(-)}=({\hat{E}}^{(+)}{)}^{†}$. An ideal absorbing photodetector responds towith density matrix $\rho$. The diagonal gives the single-count rate up to the detector coupling. Multiple absorptions require higher, normal-ordered field products. Roy J. Glauber used these correlations to develop the quantum account of optical coherence.^[ref]

The ordering follows from a detection amplitude. If absorption takes an initial pure state $|i⟩$ to an unobserved final state $|f⟩$, its field factor is $⟨f|{\hat{E}}^{(+)}|i⟩$. Squaring its complex modulus and summing over a complete orthonormal basis of final states gives $⟨i|{\hat{E}}^{(-)}{\hat{E}}^{(+)}|i⟩$. Averaging over initial preparations replaces this expression by a trace. Thus a detector that absorbs cannot count the Fock vacuum, although the vacuum has quantum fluctuations.

For one selected normal mode, ${\hat{E}}^{(+)}(t)=\mathcal{E}u(t)a$. All Fock states with nonzero occupation, coherent states, and thermal light in this same mode havewhere both denominators are nonzero. Its magnitude is one even when the expected value of the field vanishes. Perfect first-order optical coherence therefore does not identify a coherent state. Pair detection supplies additional information.

On spatial scales much larger than the Debye length, a plasma may have nearly cancelling positive and negative electric charge densities while still carrying an electric current and having a nonzero electric field. Quasineutrality is an approximation on appropriate slow macroscopic scales, not an assertion that each fluid element has exactly zero charge or that charge separation can be ignored at every boundary.

An approximation that keeps slow electromagnetic time variation while treating propagation across characteristic size $L$ as rapid compared with the variation time $1/\omega$. The dimensionless parameter $\omega L/c$ measures that separation. Which terms of the Maxwell equations can be dropped still depends on the physical scaling; small propagation delay alone does not justify deleting both displacement current and electromagnetic induction. For a slowly driven parallel-plate capacitor, a nearly uniform gap electric field can coexist with the magnetic field generated by its changing electric flux.

A quasistatic electromagnetic approximation neglects propagation delay over a vacuum device of characteristic size $L$ when $\omega L/c\ll 1$. It does not automatically discard every time derivative: an Ampere-Maxwell law calculation in a capacitor gap must retain displacement current. In a medium use the relevant propagation and response scales. The dominant approximately static electric field can be used to calculate a smaller induced magnetic field, provided the corrections to the dominant field remain small. Near a resonance or for a large distributed circuit, the size criterion alone may not justify an instantaneous lumped model.

The induced electric field opposes the increasing axial current, while the magnetic field circles it. Their Poynting vector points radially outward and transports energy into the growing magnetic-field region.

For a coaxial cable with inner and outer radii $a,b$, a radial interface $c$, and permittivities $ϵ,{ϵ}^{\prime }$, define $T=\ln (c/a)/ϵ+\ln (b/c)/{ϵ}^{\prime }$. With terminal electric potential difference $V$, the electric displacement field is $D_{\rho }=V/(T\rho )$. The electric field is $E_{\rho }=V/(T{ϵ}_i\rho )$ in each layer $i$. If the outward and return electric currents have magnitudes $I$, the magnetic field strength in the gap is $H_{\phi }=I/(2\pi \rho )$ and the magnetic field is $B_{\phi }={\mu }_{i}I/(2\pi \rho )$.

The proof uses Gauss's law without free interface electric charge, the electric potential difference integral, and the magnetostatic Ampère law. The axial Poynting vector is $VI/(2\pi T{ϵ}_i{\rho }^2)$, so its cross-sectional surface integral is $VI$, independently of the radial material layering and magnetic permeabilities. The empty inner and exterior regions have zero electric field and magnetic field for the regular solution with bounded exterior electric potential and no applied magnetic field.

When the radiofrequency drive is much faster than the Paul trap secular motion and Paul trap micromotion is small, averaging the oscillatory force produces the displayed effective potential. The electric field here is its peak oscillating amplitude. It is an energy, not a static electrostatic potential, so confinement does not contradict the static electrostatic no-trapping theorem. Excess Paul trap micromotion from displacement from the radiofrequency null is distinct from the intended slow Paul trap secular motion.

The simplest off-resonant explanation is a vibrating polarizability. Let $Q(t)=Q_0\cos (2\pi {\nu }_{v}t)$ be a small normal mode coordinate of molecular vibration, and use one scalar component of polarizability, $\alpha (Q)\simeq {\alpha }_0+{\alpha }_0^{\prime }Q$. For incident electric field $E(t)=E_0\cos (2\pi {\nu }_{0}t)$, the induced electric dipole moment isThe product-to-sum formula produces the two displaced frequencies. A nonzero derivative ${\alpha }_0^{\prime }$ gives vibrational Raman scattering in this linear model. Real polarizability is generally a tensor, and the selected components depend on incident and observed wave polarization. This condition differs from vibrational infrared activity, which requires a changing molecular electric dipole moment without an applied optical electric field. A vibration can therefore appear in one measurement and be absent in the other.

This classical modulation argument explains line locations but supplies equal sideband wave amplitudes; it does not explain their thermal asymmetry or the nonzero Stokes Raman scattering from a vibrational ground state. Those require the quantum harmonic oscillator population and transition strengths. The far-off-resonance drawing uses dashed virtual intermediate levels: they represent terms in a scattering probability amplitude, not a long-lived occupied electronic energy eigenstate. Near an electronic resonance, a more detailed treatment of the intermediate response is needed.

The geometrical optics account of an optical trap adds the momentum flux changes of refracted and reflected light rays. It applies when the bead is large compared with the surrounding medium's wavelength. When the bead is much smaller, an induced electric dipole gives a different approximation. For a homogeneous dielectric sphere of radius $a$, define $\mathbf{p}(t)=\mathrm{Re}[\alpha {\mathbf{E}}_0{e}^{-i\omega t}]$, with ${\mathbf{E}}_0$ the peak complex electric field and $\alpha$ its SI polarizability. In a transparent, nonmagnetic, nondispersive host,where $n_p,n_m$ are particle and host refractive indices, $I$ is cycle-averaged light intensity, ${ϵ}_0$ is the vacuum permittivity and $c$ is the speed of light. The quasistatic electric dipole approximation requires $2\pi n_{m}a/{\lambda }_0\ll 1$, with ${\lambda }_0$ the vacuum wavelength, and a field nearly uniform across the bead.

For real quasistatic $\alpha$, building an induced electric dipole gives instantaneous potential energy $-\alpha E^2/2$. Averaging over one optical cycle givesThus $n_p>n_m$ gives positive polarizability and attraction toward larger light intensity; $n_p<n_m$ reverses this contribution. The factor $1/4$ uses a peak field: substituting a root mean square field without changing that factor would halve the force incorrectly. Dimensionally $\alpha |E_0{|}^2$ is energy, so its gradient is force.

This leading conservative term does not remove the optical scattering force. Even a nonabsorbing induced electric dipole reradiates light: at fixed wavelength and index contrast, its Rayleigh scattering cross-section scales as $a^6$, while $\alpha$ scales as $a^3$. A smaller bead can therefore improve the ratio of gradient to scattering forces while weakening the well relative to $k_{B}T$, where $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant and $T$ the temperature. Optical force balance and resistance to thermal escape are separate questions. Intermediate bead sizes require a wave-scattering calculation; neither a ray calculation nor this small-dipole expression is uniformly valid there.