J. D.

Jackson Home
Page
http://www-theory.lbl.gov/jdj/

John David Jackson (January 19, 1925 – May 20, 2016)

Professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley
Senior scientist emeritus at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Member of the National Academy of Sciences
 Electrostatics
Chapters: 1,2, and 3
List of topics

Maxwell's equations for electrostatic fields

Charge distributions and discontinuities
Method of images
Highly symmetrical two-dimensional problems
Equations of Laplace and Poisson
Boundary-values condition and uniqueness of solution
Green function method
Variational method
Fourier analysis method (propagation of virtual photons)
Method of separation of variables
Eigenfunction expansions for Green functions
Expansion in spherical harmonics
Expansion in Bessel functions
Electrostatic in dielectric materials
 Chap.1

Maxwell's equations for electrostatic field

Rotational and divergence
Discontinuous to continuous
 QUESTION

Since an electric current is not a smooth and continuous flow, but it is like a
chaotic noise from a variety of sources…. is it possible to obtain the electric
charge from an analysis of the electric current noise?

Hint: https://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0605025.pdf
Gauss´s law
Electric potential (scalar)
 Electrostatic field equations

Integral formulation

Electrostatic fields do not have time dependence (charges are not necessarily
stationary, but slow-moving with no acceleration)
 Exercise
Are there electrostatic waves?
If it does exist, what is it?

Hint:
http://puhep1.princeton.edu/~mcdonald/examples/bernstein.pdf
 Chap. 2
Method of image charges (mirror charges)

Transformation of an electrostatic field in another

equivalent and simpler to calculate.
 Application

Point .electric charge nearby a grounded metallic sphere.

For a charge Q > 0, the surface charge density ´ < 0.

The boundary condition V = 0 on the sphere surface must be
obtained using Q and image charge Q´, strategically inserted
in the problem for replacement of the sphere.
V = 0 at arbitrary P1(r,) and P2 (r,):

leading to:

Then, at P3 (r,) :
For an arbitrary point P(r,)

At r = a :
Calculating the charge density:

The total charge induced on the surface:

Thus, the total charge induced in the metallic surface equals

the image charge used to replace the sphere, validating the
Gauss´s law.
Discussion

RD
Field lines and equipotential
 Exercise
(a)Show that the force F between a point charge q > 0 and a
metallic sphere of radius R and charge Q > 0 is given by :

 
  R  
 Q   q 
q  D  Rq 
F 
4o  2 2
D   R 2  
 DD    
   D  
    

where D is the distance between q and the center of the sphere.

(b) Can this force be attractive? If so, under what condition.

 Highly symmetrical bidimensional problems

Z Z’  (r ei ) Z Z’’  Z’ 2

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Fractals/Conformal_map
 Funções complexas (uma variável)

Variação infinitesimal

Diferencial com relação a z e z :

 Critério de diferenciabilidade complexa

Anula-se sobre o eixo x:

Anula-se sobre o eixo y:

Logo, obtém-se as Equações de Cauchy-Riemann:

Equivalentemente, u e v satisfazem a Equação de Laplace:

 Transformações conformes

(mapeamento com funções complexas analíticas onde

ângulos são preservados localmente)

Ex.:

Partes real e imaginária (isolinhas de potencial e de campo):

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ConformalMapping.html
Interfaces and surfaces
Discontinuity in E and 
Dipolar approximation

"dipole layer"
 Poisson and Laplace

R a

x x´

Validation:
Boundary conditions for ordinary and partial differential equations

L ( u )= 0 n   =  / n  

1) u =f : Dirichlet
2) u/n = f : Neumann
3) au + b(u/n)= f : Robin
4) u(t) = f1 and (u/n)(t) = f2 : Cauchy

5) u = f1  au + b(u/n) = f2 : Mixed

f2
f1
 Additional remarks:

What about time-dependent boundary conditions?

What about time-reversibility symmetry? The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics

implies in non-reproducible thermal fluctuations with dissipation!
 Observação:
Dinâmica determinística e dinâmica previsível não são equivalentes no âmbito
de sistemas físicos descritos por equação ou sistema de equações diferenciais …

A equivalência é válida se o estado inicial (presente) do sistema pudesse ser

medido com absoluta precisão, mas isso não é possível!

Ademais, apesar das Equações de Maxwell serem lineares, caos determinístico

pode ocorrer no campo eletromagnético clássico.

Por exemplo, numa cavidade com um pistão móvel .

 Green function method

George Green
1793-1841

Quantum Mech. propagator

 Green Function
(for a point charge)
A fewproperties of the -function
n-dimensional

over all roots of g(x) if are simple ones

Função-distribuição delta de Dirac
 Exercício
Usando funções distribuição de Dirac definir fontes eletrostáticas filamentares
com formato anelar de raio R no espaço tridimensional em coordenadas:
(a) cartesianas
(b) cilíndricas e
(c) esférica polares.
 Green´s theorems

1st

       2    2 

2nd
 Green´s ansatz

Dirichlet condition on S:

Neumann
Condição conditionpara
de Neumann for x´x´on S S:
sobre

(average value of on S)

 Uniqueness

o o
o
Dirichlet Neumann
 Interpretations of F(x,x´)
Solution of Laplace´s equation inside V;

Potential of a charge system outside the volume V

whose charge distribution on the surface gives
 = 0 or = 0 when combined to a point charge at x´
(image charge).

For Dirichlet problem, it is the potential on conductor due

to a point charge at x´.

Note: The determination of G (x, x ') can be difficult or impossible due to

its dependence on the shape of the surface S.
 Exercise
Solve the same problem of the point charge in front of a sphere using
the Green function method, as shown in Section 2.6.

Using:

(b) Show that:

(a) Show that:

 Variacional method
By using a functional and Dirichlet condition:

where  is a well defined function inside volume V and on the surface S

with g a source function without singularities inside V.
Now using a functional and Neumann condition:

(inside volume V)

(on the surface S)

 Exercise
Remake the example of the distribution of arbitrary charges of Section 1.12
 Análise Fourier

Decomposição espectral do campo eletromagnético

(campo eletrostático)
 Fourier analyses
a direct quantization of electromagnetic (electrostatic) field : photons
 Manifestation of virtual photons (Electrostatic)
The Coulomb force (static electric force) between electric charges is caused by the exchange of
virtual photons. In symmetric 3-dimensional space this exchange results in the inverse square law
for electric force.

Due to Quantum Mechanical Incertainty, any virtual photon exist for a limited time and cannot have
a precise energy or momentum. Indeed, they are exchanged between real particles like electrons
and protons, but they are not enumerable. Longer life virtual photon becomes a real photon.

REMARK

The magnetic field between magnetic dipoles is caused by the exchange of virtual photons. In
symmetric 3-dimensional space, this exchange results in the inverse cube law for magnetic force.
 Chap. 2 and 3

Solve the Poisson equation of electric potential and determine the electric field
Fourier and Dirichlet kernels
Going to continue ...

x  [ -  , + ]

"density of an idealized point charge or point mass"

Example
Examples of asymptotic expansions
 Method of separation of variables
(Rectangular coordinates)

General solution: =
Consider the example described in the section 2.10 of the
Jackson´s textbook
Consider the grounded metallic cavity with a
polarized upper face
 Exercise
Determine the surface charge density on the upper face (cover) of the
rectangular cavity considered in the previous slide.
-
Boundary-value conditions
 Consider the cases: edges and corners

Consider the surface-charge density at extremes:

=0

see Section 3.4 (Jackson´s textbook)

 Examples of corners and
conical symmetries
intersection of two potential energy surfaces in the molecular geometry
 Laplace equation
(spherical coordenates)

Separation of variables

r 2 sen 2

UPQ
Determining functions UPQ
Associated Legendre polynomials

Legendre polynomials
André-Marie Legendre (1782) :

Legendre polynomials are also eigenstates of a differential

hermitian operator:

with eigenvalues  given by n(n+1).

Eigenfunction expansions for Green function
For

Substituting into the equation:

Multiplying by n* , integrating over the volume and using orthogonality:

Then

If results
Coming back to associated Legendre polynomials

Ortogonality and normalization

Normalization
Associated Legendre polynomials
 Spherical harmonics

Normalization and ortogonality condition

Closure condition
 Spatial representation
(red < 0 and green > 0)

m=0
Spherical harmonics ortho-normalized to a
unit sphere

Remark: using Condon-Shortley phase factor (-1)m if m > 0

 Atomic orbitals
(squared modulus of the combined spherical harmonics)

Y10 Y11 + Y1-1 Y11 - Y1-1

Y20 Y21 + Y2-1

Y21 - Y2-1 Y22 + Y2-2 Y22 - Y2-2

Spherical harmonics expansion

Multipolar expansion
 General solution for azimuthal symmetry
(m = 0)

General solution without divergence in origin

Solutions on the axis of symmetry (z = r)

Theorem of addition for spherical harmonics
 Exercise
Check the expansion of Green's function in spherical coordinates:

Use the completeness relation or closure:

 Exercise
Consider a linear charge distibution  Cm in the z axis between
z =  a and z =  a.

(a) Show that at any point, such that r > a is valid:

2aλ 
3 5
1a  1 a 
(4πεo )V  Po (cosθ)    P2 (cosθ)    P4 (cosθ)  ... 
r  3 r  5 r  


(b) Determine the electric field.

 Exercise
Determine the potential and the electric field near a conducting plane
z = 0 with a circular aperture of radius r = a, where the vertical component
the electric field have asymptotic values Eo for z > 0 and E1 for z < 0.

Following the steps shown in Section 3.13, solve the Problem 3.25a
see next slide.
Multipolar expantion (r< = r´ and r> = r) of the
electric potential for an arbitrary radius R

Multipolar moments
Generic formulation of the
multipolar electric field
 Electric dipolar moment

Electric quadrupole tensor

Remark:
Example of electric potential expansion

monopole dipole quadrupole

 Exercise
A region with charge density (x,y,z) is immersed in an electrostatic field
o)
described by a potential (x,y,z).

(a) Assuming a small change in the electrical potential in the region

containing the charge density, show that the total force acting on
charge distribution can be described as:

(b) Also show that the total torque can be written as:

where 1 is one cartesian component.

 Exercise
(a) Check the expression of the dipolar electric field.

(b) Shown that to meet it is necessary that:

 Exercise
Show that the general solution of Laplace eq. for  = QZR in cylindrical
coordinates is (Section 3.7 of Jackson´s textbook 3rd Ed.):

such that:

with kmn = xmna determined from :

Electrostatic in dielectric materials
 Example

spontaneous electric polarization

Dielectric
Materials
 Electric polarization, P

If there are N molecules per unit volume with an average value

of electric dipole moment per molecule p.

where is assuming an electric dipole moment given by pr inside

volume v.
 Electric potential of a polarized dielectric

NOTE: If there are free electrical charges present, then are added
integral terms for each of the free charges.
 Poisson equation

Such that:
Remark :

All crystalline solid usually has distinct dielectric responses along

different crystal axes; due to mobility and/or preferred orientation
of the electric dipole moments in a given direction. As a result,
the electric susceptibility may depend on the electric field E and
the direction of the electrical polarizability P can not be oriented
in the same direction of E.

In this case, the susceptibility becomes a tensor of second order.

Only 6 of the 9 components are independent and there are three
main directions concerning the crystalline axes.

e.g.:
A dielectric cavity between polarizing plates

Electric field at
atomic scale
Em

0 r
Local electric field inside a virtual cavity :

Field of the plates : being

Depolarizing field: P = Pn 

Internal field in the dielectric:

Field due to P in the cavity:

Field due to dipoles within the cavity:

It is null only in gas, but is a good approximation for liquids or cubic crystals.
Exercise:

(a) Remembering that show that the electric field of an

electric dipole can be written using the electric potential as

.

(b) Using the expression above shows that the x component of the dipolar electric field

within a dielectric can be written as :

Assuming an isotropic dielectric, the components x, y and z are equivalent

because of the lattice symmetry. Then the spatial average values satisfy the relations:

Therefore, it is E '= 0 for any dielectric cavity?

 Continuity conditions at interfaces

The electric potential is continuous across the interface between two media, since
otherwise the electric field would become infinitely large.
Point electric charge in front of a semi-infinite dielectric block

r
s
+Q 
D n b

Goal: determine b and discuss the electric field lines.

Normal electric field component at the interface created by
charge Q :

From Gauss law, the induced bound charge b determines

the normal components of the electric field with strength
b/2o , which are opposite at the air-dielectric interface,
such that inside the dielectric:

Resulting

Therefore,
Assuming the right side containing the dielectric as the positive
axis, the normal components of the electric field are:

Outside dielectric:

Inside dielectric:
Since and being the normal component D
continuous at interface because there are no free charges.

Boundary-values conditions satisfied, the uniqueness of the

solution imposes that the dielectric can be replaced by the
image charge Q’.

That is, the electric field to the left of the air-dielectric interface
can be described as due to the charges Q and Q ', as shown in
Figure (a) on the next slide.

It is also observed that Eni remains unchanged replacing the

dielectric by an effective charge Q'', as shown in Figure (b) on
the next slide.

The problem is qualitatively solved!

Equivalent mirror charges
 field lines

eq
uip
ote
n tia
l

air diel ectric

 Exercise
(a) Determine the dipolar electric field created by a dielectric sphere
immersed in an asymptotically uniform electric field.

(b) Determine the dipole electric field inside a spherical cavity in a

dielectric medium immersed in a electric field asymptomatically uniform.
Electrostatic energy density in terms of E and D
Calculation of the work done by the electric field:
Energy expended

Density of energy expended:

or
Electrical energy-storing devices

Ragone, D., "Review of Battery Systems for Electrically Powered Vehicles,"

SAE Technical Paper 680453, 1968, doi:10.4271/680453
"Syntheses and Applications of Carbon Nanotubes and Their Composites", book edited by Satoru Suzuki, Published: May 9, 2013