Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 3 37D Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Write the electromagnetic field tensor as . Substitution into the Covariant Maxwell equation with the minus-plus-plus-plus metric givesChoose the Lorenz gauge . Since , the electromagnetic four-potential obeysConvolution with the outgoing retarded Green function gives the retarded electromagnetic potential
For the point particle, is its unique retarded proper time, characterized byThus is where the particle's worldline intersects the past light cone of the observation event ; the displayed expression is the covariant form of the Lienard-Wiechert potentials.
On the -axis put . The retarded time is . For the circular orbit, the spatial velocity at that time isBecause the displacement from the retarded source point to the observation point is orthogonal to this velocity, , while . The factors of cancel, leaving