Getting lorentz electromagnetic force from hamilton principle

In summary, we have derived the Lorentz force law by using Hamilton's equations and the Hamiltonian of a charged particle in the presence of vector and scalar potentials. This derivation is done in SI units and uses Einstein summation convention, the Levi-Civita symbol, and the Kronecker delta. The final result is the familiar Lorentz force law, which describes the force on a point charge in an electromagnetic field.
  • #1
y.moghadamnia
23
1
the title is pretty clear, so we have this F=q( E+V/c X B) the force for a point charge q in an electromagnetic field. and we have the formula to the hamiltonian of electromag force:
H= (P+ q/c.A)/2m _ e[tex]\phi[/tex].
the question is how can I get the F from the hamilton principle, using the hamiltonian above.
dont tell me I got to defrentiate from H with respect to P and q and all that, because I know it. I want calculations please. thanks for helping! :-)
 
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  • #2
I'll show you how to do this in SI units, instead of CGS. The question is to derive the Lorentz force law using Hamilton's equations and the Hamiltonian of a charged particle in the presence the vector and scalar potentials, ie.
$$H=\frac{(\vec p-e \vec A)^2}{2m}+e V ,\;\;\;\;\;\;(1)$$
where e and m are the charge and mass of the particle respectivley. Hamilton's equations are
$$\dot q_i=\frac{\partial H}{\partial p_i} \;\;\;\;\;\;(2)$$
and
$$\dot p_i=-\frac{\partial H}{\partial q_i} , \;\;\;\;\;\;(3)$$
where the dot refers to ordinary differentiation with respect to time. In order to follow the solution, you must be familiar with Einstein summation convention, the Levi-Civita symbol and the Kronecker delta

Substituting eq'n (1) into (2) gives
\begin{align*}\dot q_i =& \frac{\partial}{\partial p_i}\left(\frac{1}{2m}\sum_{j=1}^3\left(p_j-e A_j\right)^2\right) \\
=&\frac{1}{m}\left(p_i-e A_i \right) .\end{align*}
Multiplying both sides by m gives
$$m \dot q_i = p_i -e A_i \;\;\;\;\;\;(4)$$
Differentiating with respect to time yields,
$$m \ddot q_i = \dot p_i -e \dot A_i \;\;\;\;\;\;(5)$$

Now substituting in eqn (1) into (3) and keeping in mind that the vector potential A is a function of the coordinates,
\begin{align*}\dot p_i=\frac{e}{m}\sum_j \left(p_j - e A_j\right)\frac{\partial A_j}{\partial q_i} -e \frac{\partial V}{\partial q_i} \end{align*}
and substituting in eqn (4) gives
$$\dot p_i=e v_j \partial_i A_j - e \partial_i V \;\;\;\;\;\;(6)$$
where I'm using Einstein summation convention (summation of the index j here) and I've defined
$$v_j\equiv\dot q_j$$
and
$$\partial_i\equiv\frac{\partial}{\partial q_i} .$$

Plug (6) into (5) to yield,
$$m \ddot q_i =e v_j \partial_i A_j - e \partial_i V - e \dot A_i\;\;\;\;\;\;(7)$$
(note we're still using Einstein summation convention)

Now,
\begin{align}\frac{d A_i}{dt}=&\frac{\partial A_i}{\partial t}+\frac{\partial A_i}{\partial q_j}\frac{dq_i}{dt} \\
\dot A_i =&\frac{\partial A_i}{\partial t}+v_j \partial_j A_i\end{align}
Substituting this result into (7) and rearranging a bit, we get
$$m \ddot q_i = e \left(v_j \partial_i A_j - v_j \partial_j A_i \right)+e\left(-\frac{\partial V}{\partial q_i}-\frac{\partial A_i}{\partial t}\right) \;\;\;\;\;\;(8)$$

I need to prove that the first term here is actually just the i-th component of v cross B, so to do that I employ the Levi-Civita symbol,
\begin{align}\left(\vec v \times \vec B\right)_i = \left(\vec v \times\left(\vec\nabla \times \vec A\right)\right)_i=&\epsilon_{ijk}v_j \left(\vec\nabla \times \vec A\right)_k \\
=&\epsilon_{ijk}v_j\epsilon_{klm}\partial_l A_m \\
=&\epsilon_{ijk}\epsilon_{lmk}v_j \partial_l A_m
\end{align}
and using the identity (see Wiki's article on Levi-Civita),
$$\epsilon_{ijk}\epsilon_{lmk}=\delta_{il}\delta_{jm}-\delta_{im}\delta_{jl}$$,
we get
$$\left(\vec v \times \vec B\right)_j=v_m\partial_i A_m - v_j \partial_l A_i$$
or upon relabelling,
$$\left(\vec v \times \vec B\right)_j=v_j\partial_i A_j - v_j \partial_j A_i \;\;\;\;\;\;(9)$$

We'll use this in a second, but first consider that
$$\vec E = -\vec \nabla V - \frac{\partial \vec A}{\partial t}$$
(see Griffiths EM book) or in component form,
$$E_i = -\frac{\partial V}{\partial q_i} - \frac{\partial A_i}{\partial t} \;\;\;\;\;\;(10)$$

Finally, substituting (9) and (10) into (8) yields
$$m \ddot q_i = e\left(\vec v \times \vec B \right)_i + e E_i$$
or written in vector form,
$$m \ddot{\vec{q}} = e\left(\vec E +\vec v\times\vec B\right)$$
which is the Lorentz force law. QED.
 

What is the Lorentz electromagnetic force?

The Lorentz electromagnetic force is a fundamental force in nature that describes the interactions between charged particles. It is responsible for all electromagnetic phenomena, such as electricity, magnetism, and light.

What is the Hamilton principle?

The Hamilton principle is a fundamental principle in classical mechanics that states that the path a system takes between two points is the one that minimizes the action, which is the integral of the Lagrangian of the system over time.

How can the Lorentz electromagnetic force be derived from the Hamilton principle?

The Lorentz electromagnetic force can be derived from the Hamilton principle by considering a charged particle moving in an electromagnetic field. Using the Lagrangian formulation, the equations of motion can be derived, which lead to the Lorentz force equation.

What is the significance of deriving the Lorentz electromagnetic force from the Hamilton principle?

Deriving the Lorentz electromagnetic force from the Hamilton principle provides a more fundamental and elegant understanding of the force. It also allows for the incorporation of other principles, such as relativity, into the derivation.

Are there any limitations to deriving the Lorentz electromagnetic force from the Hamilton principle?

While the Hamilton principle is a powerful tool for understanding the Lorentz force, it has limitations when it comes to describing quantum mechanical phenomena. In these cases, other principles, such as the Schrödinger equation, must be used.

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