Chapt er 3

Fi el ds of Movi ng Charges
In a relativistic atomic collision, bot h the projectile mot i on with respect to
the t arget and the orbital mot i on of inner-shell electrons around a hi gh-Z
t arget or projectile nucleus proceed with velocities t hat are comparabl e to
the speed of light. To a good approxi mat i on, the nuclear mot i on can be
described by classical mechanics while the relativistic mot i on of inner-shell
electrons in hi gh-Z at oms or ions is described by the Dirac theory.
In this chapter, we confine ourselves to the t r eat ment of relativistically
moving classical charges. While in Chapt er 2 we discuss the consequences
of Lorentz t ransformat i ons on energies and moment a, we here consider the
collision in space and time and st udy the electromagnetic fields produced
by the collision partners.
After briefly summari zi ng the basic equations of electrodynamics, we
discuss the classical mot i on of nuclei under the mut ual influence of their
electromagnetic fields. We show t hat it is appropri at e for relativistic atomic
processes to assume t hat the projectile moves with a const ant velocity along
a straight-line t raj ect ory. Coordi nat e systems at t ached to the t arget and
to the projectile nucleus t hen are inertial frames, and the Lorentz trans-
format i on as well as the Lorent z-t ransformed Coulomb fields are expressed
in a simple form. For large values of the Lorentz factor ~/ [Eq. (2.14)],
the field generat ed in the l aborat ory syst em by a moving charge is quite
similar to a pulse of electromagnetic radiation. The replacement of these
t i me-dependent fields by electromagnetic waves const i t ut es the basis of
the equi val ent -phot on met hod, also known as WeizsS~cker-Williams met hod,
which is discussed first in a space-time and subsequently in a moment um-
space description.
35
36 CHAPTER 3. FI ELDS OF MOVI NG CHARGES
3.1 Basi c equat i ons of e l e c t r odynami c s
For l at er reference and for est abl i shi ng t he not at i on, we summar i ze here
some of t he basic equat i ons of el ect r odynami cs adopt i ng Gaussi an uni t s
[Jac75]. In t he Lor ent z fami l y of gauges, t he wave equat i ons for t he vect or
pot ent i al A and t he scal ar pot ent i al (I) are
1 02A 4~
V2 A = ~ j
c 2 0t 2 c
1 02(I)
c 2 0t 2
V2(I) - 47rp, (3.1)
where t he cur r ent densi t y j ( r , t) and t he charge densi t y p(r, t) sat i sfy t he
cont i nui t y equat i on
Op
0--t + V. j - 0 (3.2)
and t he pot ent i al s are subj ect t o t he Lor ent z condi t i on
1 0( I )
c Ot + V- A - O. (3.3)
The electric field E and t he magnet i c field B are expressed in t er ms of t he
pot ent i al s A and (I) as
1 0 A
E = V(I)
c Ot
B - V ( 3 . 4 )
If we now i nt r oduce t he f our - pot ent i al AU - (A 0, A) = ((I), A) , t he four-
cur r ent j u - (cp, j ) , and t he four-deri vat i ve 0 u - O/Oxu = ( O/ O( c t ) , - V) ,
see Eq. (2.9), we can wri t e Eqs. (3.1) in t he covari ant form
I-9 A ~ - 4_~ j , , (3.5)
c
where t he d' Al ember t i an I--1 - 0~0 ~ - ~-]~ 0~0 ~. Fur t her mor e, t he conti-
nui t y equat i on, Eq. (3.2), is r ewr i t t en as
O~j ~ - 0, (3.6)
where we have agai n adopt ed t he convent i on t o sum over subscr i pt s occur-
ri ng twice. Similarly, t he Lor ent z condi t i on, Eq. (3.3), becomes
O~A ~ - 0. (3.7)
3.2. MOTI ON OF I NTERACTI NG POI NT CHARGES 37
The electric and magnetic fields (3.4) are obt ai ned as the component s
of the second-rank, ant i symmet ri c field-strength tensor
F ~' = 0 " A ~' _ 0 ~'A ~ =
0 - Ex - Ey - Ez
Ex 0 - Bz By
Ey Bz 0 - Bx "
Ez - By Bx 0
( a . 8 )
In t erms of the field-strength tensor, the Maxwell equations can be wri t t en
in covariant form as
0, F" " = 4Z j " (3.9)
C
and
(3.10) O)' F ~" + O' F ~')' + O~'F )'~ - O,
where A, #, u are any three of the integers O, 1, 2, 3.
3.2 Mot i on of i nteracti ng poi nt charges
The pr ot ot ype syst em for an atomic collision is composed of three bodies:
two nuclei and one electron. Since the electron is so much lighter t han the
nuclei, its influence on the nuclear mot i on can usual l y be ignored. As a
first step, we therefore consider two point charges, the t arget nucleus with
charge number ZT and mass MT and the projectile nucleus with charge
number Zp and mass Mp. In Sec. 3.2.1 we assume t hat the mot i on of the
nuclei can be described by classical mechanics and electrodynamics, and
in Sec. 3.2.2 we discuss the limitations imposed by quant al effects. The
connection with a full quant um t r eat ment is presented in Sec. 5.2.
3. 2. 1 Par t i c l e s c a t t e r i ng i n cl as s i cal me c ha ni c s
The scat t eri ng of classical particles by one anot her is described in t erms
of classical trajectories. We have in mi nd two particles in their center-of-
mass coordi nat e syst em wi t h an interaction force between t hem defined by
a pot ent i al V. It should be remarked t hat relativistic pot ent i al scat t eri ng
in general is a rat her artificial construction, because static potentials are
not Lorentz invariant. However, since el ect rodynami cs is a relativistically
invariant theory, it is possible to t reat electromagnetic forces in a physically
consistent manner. This holds precisely for ion-atom collisions in which we
are interested.
For describing a classical collision of a particle with a fixed target, it is
useful to introduce the concept of the impact paramet er and of the deflec-
tion angle. During the collision, the projectile generally follows a curved
38 CHAPTER 3. FI ELDS OF MOVI NG CHARGES
J /
R{ t } ~ R m i .
Fi gur e 3.1. Classical trajectory of a particle in the laboratory system.
w
Z
t r aj ect or y with an incoming and an outgoing branch. The asympt ot e to
the incoming branch is parallel to the beam direction while the asympt ot e
to the outgoing branch defines the deflection angle O with respect to the
beam direction. The distance of closest approach of the incoming asymp-
t ot e from the scattering center is denot ed as the impact paramet er b. Figure
3.1 illustrates a classical t r aj ect or y for a repulsive Coulomb potential.
For a general potential, with at t ract i ve and repulsive parts, the deflec-
tion angle O (also denot ed as "deflection function") may have any value
between - o c and 7r, where the negative values occur when the t raj ect ory is
bent around the scattering center. On the other hand, the observed "scat-
tering angle" 0, by definition, lies always between zero and 7r. The two
angles are connected bj~
0 = +( O + 27rm), (3.11)
where m is a positive integer or zero. For a given deflection angle O, the
values are so chosen t hat the scattering angle 0 lies between zero and 7r.
For a given collision energy E and a given impact paramet er b, the
single-valued function O(b) is calculated from the classical equat i on of mo-
tion, see, e.g., [McC70, New66]. If one has a beam of particles (of equal
energy) uniformly di st ri but ed over all impact paramet ers and all azi mut hal
angles, the differential cross section may be calculated as
d~ b
d a sin 0 I d O/ d b ' (3.12)
where b(O) is obt ai ned by inverting the originally calculated function O(b).
3.2. MOTI ON OF I NTERACTI NG POI NT CHARGES 39
Collisions between two bare nuclei
The resul t s obt ai ned for pot ent i al scat t er i ng can be appl i ed t o t he rel at i ve
mot i on of two part i cl es i nt er act i ng vi a a pot ent i al . For t he purel y repulsive
i nt er act i on bet ween two posi t i ve poi nt charges in which we are i nt erest ed,
deflection angle 0 and scat t er i ng angle 0 are i dent i cal and, wi t hi n classi-
cal mechani cs, t her e is a one-t o-one rel at i onshi p bet ween t he i mpact pa-
r amet er and t he scat t er i ng angle. Small i mpact par amet er s correspond t o
large scat t er i ng angles and vice versa. However, as is known from Rut her -
ford' s classic scat t er i ng exper i ment for proj ect i l e energies as low as about
1 MeV/ u, large deflection angles of t he order of 7r/2 correspond t o im-
pact par amet er s of t he order a few fin ( = 10-13cm). On t he ot her hand,
t he l engt h scale for at omi c processes is given by t he at omi c K-shell radi us
aK --- Z- l ao - - Z - 1 0 . 5 3 10-Scm where Z is t he nucl ear charge number
involved. Since t he cont r i but i on t o t he cross section of an i mpact par am-
et er ranges bet ween b and b + db is wei ght ed wi t h 27r b db, we expect t hat
i mpact par amet er s of t he order of a few fm which are associ at ed wi t h large
deflection angles give a negligible cont ri but i on. Moreover, for at omi c colli-
sion studies, t hese small i mpact par amet er s have t o be avoided because t he
backgr ound from nucl ear react i ons would t end t o mask at omi c processes.
Therefore, aside from devi at i ons discussed in Sec.3.4.2, it is perfect l y justi-
fied for most purposes t o di sregard t he finite nucl ear size and t o subst i t ut e
a posi t i ve poi nt charge for t he nucleus.
For t he i mpact par amet er s rel evant t o most at omi c processes, t hi s means
t ha t t he t ar get nucleus effectively st ays at rest in t he l abor at or y syst em
t hr oughout t he collision, t her eby pr oduci ng a st at i c Coul omb pot ent i al . It
is t hen convenient t o express all quant i t i es in t he l abor at or y (t arget ) syst em.
Following Sommerfel d' s classic t r eat ment [Som31] of t he rel at i vi st i c Kepl er
orbi t , one may derive [MaS87, New66] t he deflection of a proj ect i l e of mass
Mp and ki net i c energy Tp by a space-fixed charge Zpe (i.e., wi t h an infinite
t ar get mass) as a funct i on of t he i mpact par amet er b. Al t ernat i vel y, one
may consider two part i cl es in t hei r cent er-of-mass syst em. The symbol Mp
t hen has t he meani ng of t he reduced mass of t he two part i cl es, and t he
deflection angle refers t o t he cm frame.
It is often convenient t o express t he Lorent z fact or "y di rect l y by t he
kinetic energy of t he proj ect i l e as
1 = 1 + Tp [MeV/u] (3.13)
- - V / I _ ~ 2 9 3 1 . 4 9 4
a n d t o w r i t e t h e d e f l e c t i o n a n g l e a s a f u n c t i o n o f t h e r a t i o
ZpZTe2/ b e 2
X - - Mpc 2 = hc ZpZT b (3.14)
40 CHAPTER 3. FIELDS OF MOVING CHARGES
between the Coulomb repulsion energy of the nuclei at the separat i on b and
the rest energy of the projectile. In the second equation, )% = h/ Mpc is the
Compt on wavelength of the projectile (it is more convenient this expression,
rat her t han h/Mpc). Using the abbrevi at i on
~/ xe (3.15)
r / - 1 3 ` 2 1 ,
one obtains the deflection angle O as a function of the paramet ers 3` and x
a s
2
O - - 0 = T r
or for x << 1 and 3` )> 1
- - a r c t a n (3`2_ 1)r/, (3.16)
3`x
X
0 ~2 - . (3.17)
3'
Let us consider U + U collisions as an example. The Compt on wave-
length (in the cm frame) for this syst em is )% = 1.78 x 10 -3 fm. From
Eqs. (3.14) and (3.17) we t hen obt ai n the cm deflection angle
0.220 3.83 x 10 -4
0 - = (3.18)
3` b[ f m] 3`(b/ag) '
where in the first equation, b is measured in fm, while in the second equat i on
it is measured in units of the urani um K-shell radius aK. It is seen t hat
down to impact paramet ers b very small on the atomic scale, the Coulomb
deflection is negligible for relativistic collisions. Even for b = 15 fm, when
the urani um nuclei begin to touch, and for a kinetic energy of 1 GeV/ u
in the cm system, the more accurate est i mat e using Eq. (3.16) yields a
deflection of only 9 mrad.
Effects of retardation and of magnetic fields
The estimates given above are based on pot ent i al scattering with a pure
Coulomb repulsion, t hat is, effects of ret ardat i on and of magnetic fields
are disregarded. Let us sketch here a more complete t r eat ment [MaS87,
MaF90]. Describing the collision in the l aborat ory system, the t arget nu-
cleus experiences the Li6nard-Wiechert pot ent i al produced by the projectile
moving along its t raj ect ory Xp = xp(t ). At the position x T of the t arget
nucleus, this pot ent i al has the form [Jac75]
Zpe )
( I ) p ( X T , t ) - - (1 - ~p - n) R r e t
( )
A p ( X T , t ) - - ( 1 - - ~ p : n ) / ~ r e t
(3.19)
3.2. MOTI ON OF I NTERACTI NG POI NT CHARGES 41
Here R = x T ( t ) - - Xp ( t r e t ) is the separat i on of the t arget nucleus from
the projectile at the ret arded time tret = t - R//C, n is the unit vector in
the direction of R, and ~p = vp/ c is the reduced projectile velocity at the
ret arded time. The electric and magnetic fields resulting from the pot ent i al s
(3.19) det ermi ne the t arget motion. The t arget nucleus is initially (at t =
- oo) at rest and st art s moving as the repulsion from the projectile becomes
effective. Conversely, the recoiling t arget nucleus at the position x T is the
source of Li6nard-Wiechert potentials ( I ) T and A T acting on the moving
projectile. In this way, the mut ual projectile-target interaction leads to a
set of eight coupled linear differential equations [MaS87, MaF90] for the
nuclear mot i on which may be solved numerically. A rigorous t r eat ment of
this kind takes into account the effects of ret ardat i on and magnetic fields
caused by the recoiling target.
As one might expect, it t urns out t hat magnetic field corrections to the
cross section for elastic scat t eri ng between nuclei are small (<3.5%) in a
part i cul ar case considered (Xe + U at 7 -~ 7) even for a close collision
in which the nuclei almost touch. This is so because the recoiling t arget
nucleus does not acquire high enough speed to generate a sizable magnetic
field and because the space-time interval in which deflection occurs is con-
fined to such small internuclear separations t hat ret ardat i on effects on the
projectile mot i on are negligible. It can also be shown t hat effects of the
nuclear magnetic moment s which might lead to spin-flip processes of the
nuclei do not play any role because the nuclear magnet on is by three orders
of magni t ude smaller t han the Bohr magnet on.
3. 2. 2 Quant al effects and t he i mpact paramet er pic-
t ure
The conditions for the applicability of (nonrelativistic) classical physics to
the scat t eri ng of a charged particle in a Coulomb field are analyzed by
Niels Bohr in a classic paper [Boh48] and are further discussed in [A1W75,
HAM70, Han90]. Li mi t at i ons to the classical description are imposed by
the Heisenberg uncert ai nt y relation which restricts the one-to-one corre-
spondence between a measured scattering angle 0 and the impact parame-
ter b. For relativistic Coulomb scattering, the argument is essentially the
same. St art i ng from the relation (3.17) between 0 and b, valid for small
scat t eri ng angles, we have
2 Z p Z T e2
0 - ~ 7 Mp c 2 , (3.20)
which tells us t hat the relative uncertainties in scat t eri ng angle and impact
p~r~meter ~r~ connected by I/XO/OI- I A b / b l . When AO is rewritten in
42 CHAPT ER 3. FI EL DS OF MOVI NG CHARGES
terms of the uncert ai nt y Ap of the transverse moment um with respect to
the longitudinal moment um pz , the uncert ai nt y relation Ap Ab _> h yields
A0 - Ap > 1 h _- h (3.21)
pz - pz Ab 7 Mp c Ab
whence
Ab 1 h
>
b - Ab 3 , Mp c O
Inserting the angle 0 from Eq. (3.20) we have
k 2ZpZTe 2 "
In order to obtain sufficient precision in b, the right-hand side of Eq. (3.22)
must be sufficiently small compared to unity. This requirement is conve-
niently expressed with the aid of the Sommerfeld paramet er
Zp ZT e 2 Ze ZT
u ~ = hc = 137 (3.23)
with the projectile velocity replaced by the speed of light. In addition
to taking into account the limitations imposed by Eq. (3.22), we have to
require t hat the energy loss AE of the particles during the ion-atom collision
is negligible. In summary, the conditions for the validity of the concept of
classical trajectories are
2Uc >> 1
AE
E
<< 1. (3.24)
Only if these conditions are satisfied is it possible to assign an impact
paramet er b to a given scattering angle 0. Hence the impact paramet er in
relativistic collisions cannot be determined unless the product of nuclear
charge numbers ZpZ T >> 70.
It should also be mentioned t hat within relativistic quant um theory, the
least possible error in the measurement of the space coordinates of a point
particle in its rest frame is given by the Compt on wavelength ~: = h / Mp c
of the particle. Since for a proton ~ = 2.1 x 10 -14 cm and ~ is still smaller
for a heavy nucleus, this uncert ai nt y does not place any serious limitation
upon the definition of classical trajectories for heavy ions.
We see t hat in many relevant situations, the impact paramet er is not
directly accessible to measurement. However, this is not a reason to dis-
card the concept of classical trajectories. It is known from nonrelativistic
3.3. LI I ~NARD- WI ECHERT POTENTI ALS 43
i on- at om collisions [McC70, Han90] t hat a semiclassical appr oxi mat i on, in
which t he proj ect i l e mot i on is t r eat ed classically but t he el ect ron mot i on
quant um mechani cal l y (see Sees. 1.1 and 5.2), is an ext r emel y powerful
met hod even when u = ZpZTe2/ hv < 1. The ut i l i t y of t hi s concept rest s
on t he Bor n- Oppenhei mer separ at i on which allows one t o separ at e consid-
er at i on of el ect roni c st at es from consi derat i on of t he nuclei of t he at omi c
syst ems t aki ng par t in t he at omi c collision. Since t he nucl ear masses Mp
and MT are large compar ed t o t he electronic mass me, t he energy t rans-
ferred to t he i nt ernal degrees of freedom of t he at oms is much smaller t han
t he initial ki net i c energy of t he rel at i ve mot i on of t ar get and projectile.
Consequent l y, t he rel at i ve vel oci t y pract i cal l y does not change in t he colli-
sion and scat t er i ng is essentially classical.
The separ at i on of nucl ear and electronic mot i on means t hat t he el ect ron
may be r egar ded t o move in a t i me- dependent pot ent i al , t he t i me depen-
dence arising from t he mot i on of t he nuclei (see See. 5.1). The met hod is
general l y called t he "i mpact par amet er t r eat ment " or t he "i mpact par ame-
t er pi ct ure" because t he i mpact par amet er b serves to specify t he t r aj ect or y
even t hough t he l at t er may not be di rect l y measurabl e. I mpact par amet er
met hods have a st rong appeal in aiding t he physi cal i nt ui t i on. Usually,
cal cul at i ons based on t hi s met hod are mat hemat i cal l y more t r act abl e t han
fully quant um mechani cal t r eat ment s. Bot h met hods yield i dent i cal results
for qui t e general cases of i on- at om collisions.
In t he i mpact par amet er pi ct ure, t he classical one-t o-one rel at i on be-
t ween scat t er i ng angle 0 and i mpact par amet er b is repl aced wi t h an in-
t egral (see See. 5.4.2) over t he rel evant ampl i t udes in an at omi c process.
Tha t is, t he scat t er i ng ampl i t ude fn(O), Eq. (5.85), bet ween initial and fi-
nal st at es i, f for a given angle 0 receives cont r i but i ons from t he t r ansi t i on
ampl i t udes An(b) for all i mpact par amet er s. Conversely, t he i mpact par am-
et er dependence of An (b) can be r econst r uct ed, if t he scat t er i ng ampl i t udes
fn(O), i ncl udi ng t he phases, are known for all angles.
Since t he i mpact par amet er met hod is i nt i mat el y connect ed wi t h t he
electronic mot i on, we defer a discussion t o Sec. 5.1. Here, it may suffice t o
say t hat in conj unct i on wi t h t he i mpact par amet er pi ct ure, a classical t r eat -
ment of t he nucl ear mot i on is appr opr i at e for rel at i vi st i c at omi c collisions
up t o a hi gh level of accuracy.
3. 3 Li nard-Wiechert pot ent i al s
As a consequence of t he est i mat es given in Sec. 3.2, we assume in t he
following t hat t he proj ect i l e moves along a classical rect i l i near t r aj ect or y
44 CHAPTER 3. FI ELDS OF MOVI NG CHARGES
e
~
R
w I
Z T T x ,
I I
L ,.J
b
I
I
I
I
I
~vt
I
I
I
I t
L
Fi gur e 3.2. Coordinate systems for a relativistic collision between two atoms.
The position of the target nucleus (charge ZT) is chosen as the origin of the
coordinates x, y, z. The projectile nucleus (charge Zp) moves with the constant
velocity v parallel to the z-axis along a trajectory t hat is displaced from the target
by the impact parameter b along the x-axis. The projectile is located at the origin
of the moving inertial frame with the coordinates x' , y~, z ~. The electron e- has
I
the coordinate r T with respect to the target frame and rp with respect to the
projectile frame. Owing to their definition in different inertial frames associated
with different times, the vectors R (defined in the target frame) and r~ (defined
in the projectile frame) do not add vectorially to rT as might be suggested by the
figure.
whi ch in t he l abor at or y syst em is given by
R- b + vt , (3.25)
where b is t he i mpact par amet er vect or and v is a const ant velocity. Thi s
t r eat ment of t he proj ect i l e mot i on implies an i mpor t ant simplification for
heavy-i on collisions wi t h an energy exceedi ng a few MeV/ u. When defining
t he coor di nat e syst ems, it is convenient to place t he t ar get nucleus at t he
origin of t he l abor at or y syst em wi t h t he x and z axes t aken in t he di rect i ons
of b and v, respectively. Fi gure 3.2 i l l ust rat es t he geometry. The i nert i al
frame, in which t he proj ect i l e nucleus is at rest, moves wi t h t he speed v
wi t h respect to t he l abor at or y frame, and its x ~, y~, z ~ axes are parallel to t he
x, y, z l abor at or y axes, respectively. For t he t i me coordi nat es, we choose
t he convent i on t hat t he t i mes to, t~ associ at ed wi t h t he nucl ear posi t i ons
3 . 3 . L I E N A R D - W I E C H E R T P O T E N T I A L S 45
are bot h zero when t he proj ect i l e reaches its closest appr oach t o t he t ar get
nucl eus dur i ng t he collision.
Let
and
X - - X " = ( x O , x l , x 2 , x 3 ) : (Ct, x , y , z ) or ( ct , r )
X' = X r - - ( x t O , x t l , x t 2 , X ' 3 ) - - ( c t t , x t , y t , z t ) or (ct' , r ' )
(3.26)
(3.27)
denot e t he space- t i me coor di nat es of a poi nt wi t h respect t o t he t wo Lor ent z
frames. In anal ogy t o Eq. (2.10), t hese coor di nat es are r el at ed by t he in-
homogeneous Lor ent z t r ans f or mat i on
(3.28) Z i P = A P t ~ z V - 5 l i t b ,
where we adopt t he convent i on t o sum over subscr i pt s occur r i ng twice and
where t he AS sat i sfy t he or t hogonal i t y r el at i on (2.11). Defining t he uni t
vect or fi = v / v , Eq. (3.28) can also be wr i t t en in vect or form as
r ' = r + ( 7 - 1 ) ( r . 9 ) ~ r - T v t - b
t ' = 7 ( t - r ' v / c 2 ) ,
or, for t he inverse t r ans f or mat i on,
r = r ' + ( 7 - 1) ( r ' . ~r)~r + 7vt ' + b
t = 7 ( t ' + r " v / c 2 ) .
(3.29)
(3.30)
Choosi ng t he z-axis in t he di rect i on of v, we have expl i ci t l y
c t ' 7 0 0 - 3 7 c t 0
x' _ 0 1 0 0 x _ b (3.31)
y' 0 0 1 0 y 0 '
z' - 3 7 0 0 7 z 0
and t he di st ance of a poi nt (x, y, z, t) from t he ori gi n of t he movi ng frame,
measur ed in t he movi ng frame, is
r ' - V/(x - b) 2 + y2 + 72(Z _ v t i 2 . (3.32)
The same t r ans f or mat i ons allow us t o const r uct t he f our - pot ent i al gener-
at ed by a uni f or ml y movi ng charge. 1 In t he proj ect i l e frame, t he proj ect i l e
charge Z p e gives rise t o t he el ect r ost at i c pot ent i al s
(I)' (r' t ' ) - Z p e A ' ,
' r ' ' (r' t ' ) - 0. (3.33)
1We al ways t ake t he charge e > 0, in agr eement wi t h [Jac75, Ros61] and opposi t e t o
[BjD64] and [Sak67].
46 C HA P T E R 3. F I E L DS OF MOV I N G C HA R GE S
By t he defining rel at i on (2.7) of a four-vector, t he correspondi ng four-
pot ent i al s (I) and A in t he t ar get frame are obt ai ned by t he homogeneous
par t of t he same Lorentz t r ansf or mat i on (3.30) which carries t he four-
coordi nat es t ' and r ' into t and r. By simple subst i t ut i on, we derive t he
Li 6nard-Wi echert pot ent i al s pr oduced by t he proj ect i l e in t he t ar get frame
in t he forms
9/ Zpe
( I ) ( r , t ) =
v / ( x - b ) : + y : + - vt)
v
A( r , t) = - (I)(r, t) (3.34)
c
which satisfy t he Lorentz gauge condi t i on (3.3). In part i cul ar, at t he origin
of t he t ar get frame, t he electric and magnet i c fields due t o t he movi ng
proj ect i l e are given by
Z p e "yb
EX "--
(b 2 + ~/ 2v2t 2)3/ 2
E v - 0
Z p e 7 v t
Ez = - (b ~ + ~2v 2t 2) 3/ ~ " (3.35)
and
gx ~ 0
By - FEz
Bz - 0, (3.36)
respectively. We see t hat t he peak t ransverse electric field Ex is increased
by a fact or of "7 wi t h respect t o its nonrel at i vi st i c value while t he dur at i on
~ ( 3 . 3 7 )
of appreci abl e field st r engt h at t he t ar get nucleus is decreased by t he same
amount . We not e t hat t he rat i o E x / E z = - b / ( v t ) is j ust t he t angent of
t he angle 0 - a r c c o s ( - R- 9) formed bet ween t he vectors - R and t he
z-axis (Fig. 3.1). Hence t he electric field pr oduced by t he charge Z p e at
t he posi t i on of t he t ar get nucleus is di rect ed radi al l y from t he proj ect i l e' s
present (i.e., not ret arded) posi t i on t o t he observat i on poi nt at t he t ar get
nucleus. Wri t i ng b = R sin 0 and v t = R cos 0, we obt ai n t he electric field
- Z p e R
E - .y2R3( 1 _ / 32 sin2 0)3/2 . (3.38)
3.4. EQUIVALENT-PHOTON METHOD 47
!
V
v
u 2 3 ~ 5
Fi gur e 3.3. Polar diagrams for the angular dependence of the radial electric
field strength produced by a point charge moving with the velocity v to the right.
The numbers give the Lorentz factors -y.
The angul ar vari at i on of t he radial electric field st r engt h is i l l ust rat ed
in Fig. 3.3 for various projectile velocities in t erms of t he Lorentz factor
~. Along t he direction of motion, 0 = 0 or 0 = 7r, t he field st rengt h is
decreased by a factor of ~/-2 as compared to a charge at rest. On t he ot her
hand, perpendi cul ar to t he t raj ect ory, 0 = 7r/2, t he field is increased by a
factor of ?. The fl at t eni ng of t he surfaces into disk shapes is essentially an
effect of t he Lorentz cont ract i on of t he el ect romagnet i c fields.
3. 4 Equi val e nt - phot on me t ho d
The electric field produced by a moving charge becomes al most t ransverse
if ~ >> 1, see Eqs. (3.35) and (3.36), and is accompani ed by a t ransverse
magnet i c field perpendi cul ar to it and of al most equal st rengt h. These elec-
tric and magnet i c fields can be replaced approxi mat el y wi t h t he fields of a
pulse of plane linearly polarized radi at i on propagat i ng in the z-direction.
48 C H A P T E R 3. F I E L D S OF M O V I N G C H A R G E S
This replacement forms the basis of the equivalent-photon met hod which
is originally due to Fermi [Fer24] and was developed by von Weizs/icker
[Wei34] and Williams [Wi134, Wi135]. The met hod can be applied to a va-
riety of electromagnetic processes induced by charged projectiles in nuclei
and atoms, such as excitation of atoms and nuclei, ionization of atoms,
emission of bremsstrahlung, and the creation of lepton pairs. These and
other applications have been reviewed by Bertulani and Baur [BeB88]. The
Weizs/icker-Williams or equivalent-photon met hod is valuable at extremely
high energies in situations where rigorous methods are difficult to imple-
ment. It is then possible to use the known cross sections for photon-induced
reactions to estimate the corresponding cross sections induced by moving
charges, see Sec.10.2.3.
In Sec. 3.4.1 we follow the intuitively appealing space-time description of
von Weizs/icker and Williams in order to explicitly exhibit the dependence
of the fields and of the frequency spectra on the impact paramet er b. In
Sec. 3.4.2 we t urn instead to the shorter but more formal derivation of the
wave-number description which leads to essentially the same final result for
the phot on spectrum. The latter has the advantage t hat finite-size effects of
the charge distribution can be accounted for by introducing a form factor in
a nat ural way. The impact-parameter dependence of the frequency spectra
can t hen be derived for any given form factor.
3 . 4 . 1 Fo r mu l a t i o n i n t h e s p a c e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n
B a s i c a s s u mp t i o n s
The main idea behind the equivalent-photon met hod is to replace the tran-
sient fields (3.35) and (3.36) by pulses of linearly polarized radiation. The
field produced at a point X by the moving particle X ~ is indicated in
Fig. 3.4. As has been mentioned above, the time interval for which the
fields are appreciable are of the order At ~_ bi l l Y. During this time,
I E zl : I E xl vt/ b I E xl/ .
Imagine now a pulse P1 of plane radiation traveling parallel to v with
an electric field Ex(t) and a magnetic field By(t) with IByl = l e v i x
and another pulse P2 traveling perpendicular to v and Ex(t) (that is in
the positive or negative y-direction) with an electric field equal to Ez(t)
and a magnetic field Bx(t) with I B x l = I Ezl . These radiation pulses are
constructed to accurately reproduce the electric field ( a . a a ) originating from
X ~ at the point X, but they do not reproduce the magnetic field ( 3 . 3 6 ) .
The magnetic fields of the pulses deviate from those of the moving charge
by a component ]B pulse - - _ _ y R c h a r g e I - - I Ex l ( 1 - ~) in the y-direction and by a
3.4. EQUI VALENT- PHOTON METHOD 49
X
l
A
v
E X
" -" ~Ez
" f - O
u
Z
Fi gur e 3.4. The electromagnetic fields (3.35) and (3.36) produced at the point
X by the charge at X' moving with velocity v.
component IB pulse - B c h a r g e I ~ ' ~ I E z l ~ IExl/'y in the x-direction. Since the
ratio of magnetic to electric forces on a pert urbed system (e.g., an atom)
located at point X is of the order u/ c, where u is a representative velocity
within the pert urbed system, it follows t hat the errors in the forces arising
from the mi si nt erpret at i on of the magnetic field of the moving charge by
the pulses PI and P2 are of the order u/ cT. These effects may be neglected
if u/ c7 << 1, a condition t hat is certainly satisfied for 7 >> 1.
Anot her error in the replacement is caused by the fact t hat the field
produced by the moving charge varies in the transverse direction within
the space region occupied by the pert urbed system. Thus, if Ab is its
transverse extension, we have to require t hat Ab << b in order to be able to
approxi mat e the particle field by the pulses P1 and P2.
The pulses of radiation and their frequency spectra
So far, we have discussed the assumptions needed to replace the transient
electromagnetic field of a moving charge with pulses of electromagnetic
radiation. In the next step, we assume these conditions to be satisfied and
st udy the effect of the two pulses P1 and P2. In other words, we consider
a swarm of real (on-shell) photons for which the relation k = a~/c between
the wave number k and the frequency co holds. The task t hen consists in
decomposing the classical fields into a photon spect rum and to calculate the
number N(aJ, b) of equivalent photons with a given frequency a~ produced
by the passage of a projectile at the impact paramet er b.
In the l aborat ory system, the Poynting vector S describing the energy
50 CHAPTER 3. FI ELDS OF MOVI NG CHARGES
,A, I
1
(B)
E
I
,b
1
t=0
v
I
v t ~
/ t
E
P, 5 P, P,
Fi gur e 3.5. A projectile with velocity v follows a trajectory shifted by the impact
parameter b with respect to the origin of the target system (indicated by a dot .).
The arrows indicate the electric fields at positions before and after the projectile
reaches the distance of closest approach. (A) Field strength accompanying the
projectile, see Fig.3.3. (B) Equivalent-photon pulses P1 and P2 propagating in
the z and y directions (perpendicular to the plane of the figure), respectively.
flux in the field of vi rt ual phot ons is given by
S = c ( Ex B)
47r
c 2 2
= 4--4 + %E z)
(3.39)
where ~z is the unit vector in the z-direction and is associated with a
packet of plane waves polarized in the x-direction and propagat i ng in the
z-direction. It represents the pulse P1. The second t erm in Eq. (3.39)
with the unit vector +~y corresponds to the propagat i on in the positive or
negative y-direction and to a polarization in the z-direction. It represents
the pulse P2. It t urns out t hat for high projectile velocities with ~, >> 1,
the pulse P2 is of minor i mport ance and can be discarded, see Eq. (3.46),
but for the time being, we retain the pulse P2. Bot h pulses of radi at i on are
schematically illustrated in Fig. 3.5.
3.4. EQ U I V A L E N T - P H O T O N ME T H O D 51
In order to analyze the transient fields in terms of photon spectra, it is
necessary to introduce the Fourier transform of the electric field as
f
E(aJ) - 1 E( t ) e i ~t d t
(3.40)
and its inverse
/?
1 E(a~)e_i~tdaj (3.41)
E( t ) - x / ~ oo
and corresponding relations for the magnetic field B. We distinguish the
function from its transform by explicitly displaying its argument(s) in ques-
tion, in this case, co and t. Since E(r, t) is a real quantity, we may avoid ref-
erence to negative frequencies by noting t hat I n( - w) l = I n*(w)l = In(w)l.
By Fourier transforming the Poynting vector (3.39), we obtain the amount
of energy per unit area and unit frequency interval incident on the target
nucleus in the course of the collision as
C
S l ( ~ , b ) = 2 ) I E x ( ~ , b ) l ~ ,
s ~ ( ~ b ) =
' 27r IEz(aJ' b)[2, (3.42)
where I1 and/ 2 refer to the pulses P1 and P2, respectively, and a factor of
two accounts for taking the frequencies to be positive. The dependence on
the impact paramet er b and the charge number Z (we drop the label P) is
explicitly displayed in Eq. (3.35). The Fourier transform
_ Ze~,b f ~ e i~t dt
Ex (aJ, b) ( 3 . 4 3 )
J - ~ (b 2 + ~/2v2t2)3/2
can be performed conveniently by changing the integration variable to 7- =
~/ vt / b and using the integral representation of the modified Bessel functions
K 0 a n d / ( 1 o f o r d e r 0 a n d 1 [Erd54, AbS65]. The result is [Jac75]
Ze
Ex(aJ b) -- ~ / : ,
v Tr
cob
~--~ K1 ( ~ v b ) l . ( 3. 44)
In a similar fashion, one derives
Z e v E z ( ~ , b ) = - i ~ - g
wb cob
The field strength Ez in Eq. (3.45) has an additional factor 1/ 7 compared
to Eq. (3.44). Indeed, from the discussion following Eq. (3.37) and from
52 C H A P T E R 3. F I E L DS OF MO V I N G C H A R G E S
E
3
L
, = r
0
0
EL
E
0
0
c-
O.
1.0
0.8
0.6
0. 4 -
02
0.0
10-2
9 i , i , i , i i i 1 i i i I , i , i , 1 , 1 1 i i i i i I , ! , i , i , i i i i i I i
P1 _
, I 9 J . , . ' ' ' ! : ' . , , , I , i , , , . , I I I I I
1 0- 1 1 0 o 1 01
Reduced f r equency
Fi gur e 3.6. The shape of the equivalent-photon spectrum for the pulses P1 and
P2 as a function of ~ - wb/ Tv and assuming a Lorentz factor 7 - 2. The cut-off
frequency (3.47) corresponds to ~ ~ 1.
Fig. 3.3, one sees t hat t he rat i o I Ez l / I Ex l decreases wi t h 1/ 7. Wi t h t he
di mensi onl ess quant i t y ~ - ~ b / 7 v , Eq. (3.42) yields t he frequency spect r a
1 Z 2e 2
, -
I1 (W b) -- 7r 2 cb 2
1 Z2 e 2 / 3 _ 2 1
b ) = .
(3.46)
We see t hat t he i nt ensi t y of t he pulse P2 is reduced by a fact or of 7 -2
compar ed t o t hat of P1, so t hat for ext r eme rel at i vi st i c collisions, t hi s pulse
can be ignored. Fi gure 3.6 shows t he frequency spect r a of t he pulses P1 and
P2. The shape of t he pulse P1 reflects t he fact t hat accordi ng t o Eq. (3.35),
t he dur at i on of t he passage is given by At _~ b / Tv so t hat frequencies
appr eci abl y hi gher t han
_ 7c (3.47)
02ma x m b
cannot occur. In cont rast , since Ez passes t hr ough zero at t - 0, t he pulse
P2 behaves appr oxi mat el y as s i n2( Tv t / b) near t - 0, and t herefore t he
s pect r um will be localized ar ound ~ - 7 v / b or ~ ~ 1. Fi gure 3.6 confirms
3.4. EQUIVALENT-PHOTON METHOD 53
t hat the intensity of the pulse P2 is considerably reduced with respect to
t hat of P1, even for a Lorentz factor as low as 7 - 2. For larger values of
7, the contribution of P2 becomes increasingly negligible.
The cut-off frequency and the total radiated energy
The cut-off frequency given by Eq. (3.47) depends on the impact param-
eter b. The maxi mum frequency in the pulse of radiation is determined
by the mi ni mum impact paramet er bmin. This quant i t y is not always very
well determined. For example, in the collision between two nuclei, one may
take brain - R T -t- R P where R T and R0 P are the nuclear radii of t arget and
projectile. Since the charge distribution of a nucleus is not precisely t hat
of a uniformly charged sphere, nuclear form factors (see Sec. 3.4.2) may
enter into the frequency cut-off. Moreover, the underlying assumption of a
rectilinear projectile t raj ect ory and of a constant field across the transverse
extension of the system breaks down for such close encounters. The prob-
lem of the frequency cut-off often limits the usefulness of the Weizs/icker-
Williams method. Wi t h these reservations in mind, we may integrate the
intensities (3.42) over the impact paramet er plane to get the t ot al radiated
energy within a given frequency range dc~ as
I ( w ) d w - 2 7 : f i b ' ] ~
i n
[11 (a;, b) + h (w, b)] b db da:.
By using recursion formulas [GrR80] for the functions K0, K1, and their
derivatives, one can show t hat
2z2e2 / /
- - [ K1 ( ~ mi n ) - K 2 ( ~ m i n ) ] , ~ m i n K O ( ~ m i n ) K l ( ~ m i n ) - - - - ~ 2 i n 2
(3.48)
where the contributions of I1 a nd/ 2 are no longer separated and where
~mi n - -
wb mi n
7v
In the limiting cases of ~mi n ~ 1 and ~mi n ~>~ 1, approximate analytical ex-
pressions for the modified Bessel functions Ko and K1 are available lAbS65,
GrR80] which lead to the estimates
I(a~)_ 2 Z2e2 [ ( 1 . 1 2 3 7 v ) ~~1 ~/v (3.49)
7r cfl 2 In ~mm~n -- for cO ( < bmi n
54 CHAPTER 3. FIELDS OF MOVING CHARGES
and
Z2c2 ( ~2)-2w bm in/~V '~V
I(w) ~ c/32 1 - -~- e for co ) ) bmin" (3.50)
The energy spect r um 2 is domi nat ed by t he low-frequency part wi t h a tail
ext endi ng to about co ~ 2")'v/bmin.
The number of vi rt ual quant a per energy interval is obt ai ned from t he
frequency spect r um by t he rel at i on I(a~)dco = haJN(haJ)d(hco), so t hat
1
N( h ~ ) - ~ I ( ~ ) , (3.51)
ft-w
and in t he low-frequency limit
The mi ni mum i mpact par amet er bmin plays t he role of a par amet er which
has to be chosen to suit t he probl em at hand. Dependi ng on t he syst em
considered, bmin may be t he sum of two nuclear radii, an at omi c radius, or
t he Compt on wavelength of an el ement ary particle creat ed in the collision.
In some cases, one may t r y to use a different approxi mat i on for i mpact pa-
r amet er s around or below bmin. As was st at ed above, this is an unavoidable
ambi gui t y in t he appl i cat i on of t he equi val ent -phot on met hod.
3 . 4 . 2 Fo r mu l a t i o n i n t h e wa v e - n u mb e r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n
In Sec. 3.4.1, we st art from t he Li~nard-Wiechert pot ent i al wi t h t he fields
(3.35) and (3.36), of a point charge Ze moving along a straight-line t raj ec-
tory. It is i nst ruct i ve to reconsider t he process in a formulation [BeL82] in
which (a) t he Lorentz t ransformat i on of t he electric fields produced by a
general spherical charge di st ri but i on is explicitly carried out, and (b) from
t he very beginning, only t he wave numbers and frequencies of t he emi t t ed
vi rt ual phot ons play a role. The i mpact - par amet er dependence is recovered
when form factors are introduced.
We proceed as follows. We write t he projectile charge di st ri but i on in its
rest syst em in a covariant form, bot h in t he space represent at i on and in t he
Fouri er-t ransformed wave-number represent at i on. The covariant form al-
lows us to evaluate t he corresponding four-current in a coordi nat e f r ame in
which t he projectile moves and t he t arget is at rest. From t he four-current
2The numerical factor 1.123 in Eq. (3.49) arises from the occurrence of Euler's con-
stant in the series expansion of K0 and K1.
3. 4. E Q U I V A L E N T - P H O T O N M E T H O D 55
t hus obt ai ned, one can infer directly t he el ect romagnet i c four-potential in
the wave-number represent at i on which, in t urn, yields t he electric and mag-
netic fields and hence t he Poynt i ng vector and, finally, the number of equiv-
alent photons.
T h e f o u r - c u r r e n t f o r a n e x t e n d e d c h a r g e d i s t r i b u t i o n
As before, quant i t i es in t he moving projectile syst em are marked wi t h a
prime while quant i t i es in t he l aborat ory syst em are unpri med. To begin
with, t he density of the four-current of the charge Z e in its rest syst em is
j ' . ( x ' ) - p ( I r ' l ) u ' " , ( 3 . 5 3 )
where x I - x' " denotes t he four-vector of the space-time coordinates, p([r' [)
= p ( r ~) is a t i me-i ndependent spherical charge density, and u ~ - u/" =
(c, 0, 0, 0) represents t he four-velocity, here in t he rest syst em of the charge
density. In order to derive the decomposition of j / "( x ~) with respect to
wave numbers k and frequencies a~, which are combined as a four-vector
k - (a~/c, k), we t ake t he four-dimensional Fourier t ransform
1 / "
j t p ( k t ) - - (271_) 2 d 3 x d t / ) ( r t ) u t# e - i ( k ' ' r ' - c J ' t ' )
= v / ~ 6(co') p(k' ) u' ". (3.54)
Here, p(k' ) - p ( k ' ) i s t he t hree-di mensi onal Fourier t ransform of p ( r ' ) . For
ext ended spherical charge distributions, it is convenient to define a form
factor f ( U2) , which is again spherical, by writing
p ( k ' ) - - ( 2 7 r ) - 3 / 2 Z e f ( k ' 2 ) , (3.55)
or, explicitly,
1 / r'
f ( k '2) - ~ p ( r ' ) e - i k ' d 3 r ' . (3.56)
In part i cul ar, for a point charge p ( r ' ) = Ze 6( r ' ) we have f o ( k ' 2) = 1. A
bare nucleus, however, has an ext ended charge di st ri but i on and, for t he
present purpose, may be represent ed by a homogeneously charged sphere
(hcs) wi t h radius R0 and t ot al charge Z e . By direct evaluation of Eq. (3.56)
one obt ai ns t he nuclear form factor
fhcs(k,2 ) _ 3 j l ( k' R0) , (3.57)
k 1Ro
where j l is a spherical Bessel function. In t he limit R0 ~ 0, t he form factor
f0(k I2) = 1 for a point charge is retrieved.
56 CHAPTER 3. FIELDS OF MOVING CHARGES
If one assumes a Gaussi an charge di st r i but i on, t he cor r espondi ng form
fact or in wave- number space is also Gaussi an and of t he form
U: )
fGauss(k '2) -- exp - ~- ~ , (3.58)
where Q0 = 60 MeV (in ener gy uni t s) for P b - P b [DrE89].
The frequency J , whi ch occurs in t he del t a funct i on of Eq. (3.54),
is t he zer ot h component of a four-vect or. By formal l y wr i t i ng it as a
Lor ent z scal ar ~t = k ~ " u ~, t he eval uat i on in any coor di nat e s ys t em is
gr eat l y simplified. Similarly, since Eq. (3.54) requi res J = 0, we can wri t e
U 2 = - k ~. k ~ = - k ~2 as a Lor ent z i nvari ant quant i t y. Thi s means t ha t
Eq. (3.54) can be wr i t t en in a covari ant form when (3.55) is i nsert ed. In
t he l abor at or y syst em, t he f our - cur r ent reads
1
jU(k) - ~ ZeS(k. u ) f ( - k 2) u u, ( 3 . 5 9 )
where t he vel oci t y four-vect or u = u u = -y(c, v) wi t h u - u = c 2 expl i ci t l y
refers t o t he proj ect i l e vel oci t y v.
The electromagnetic four-potential
The cur r ent densi t y (3.59) allows us t o cal cul at e t he vect or pot ent i al from
Eq. (3.5) whi ch in wave- number space t akes t he form
471
k. k AU(k) = - ~ jU(k). (3.60)
c
By i nser t i ng Eq. (3.59) i nt o Eq. (3.60) we get t he wave- number decompo-
si t i on of t he el ect r omagnet i c f our - pot ent i al pr oduced by a movi ng charge
a s
AU( k ) - __2 ZeS(k. u ) f ( - k 2 ) u u (3.61)
c k 2 "
Fr om ~r = 0, we know t ha t t he Lorent z i nvari ant ar gument of t he del t a
f unct i on k. u = 7( ~ - k - v ) = J = 0 and hence t ha t
kz =w/ v. (3.62)
Therefore,
- k - k + k z = k + , ( 3 . 6 3 )
where kz denot es t he wave- number component in t he di rect i on of t he mov-
ing charge while k is t he component per pendi cul ar t o v.
3.4. E QUI V A L E NT - P HOT ON ME T HOD 57
We have now cal cul at ed t he el ect r omagnet i c f our - pot ent i al in wave-
number r epr esent at i on in t he l abor at or y syst em wi t hout t aki ng recourse
t o t he explicit Li hnar d- Wi echer t pot ent i al s (3.34). The l ongi t udi nal com-
ponent kz is fixed because t he charge di st r i but i on in its rest s ys t em is
t i me- i ndependent so t ha t its osci l l at i on f r equency cz ~ = 0 in Eq. (3.54). In
t he space r epr esent at i on of AU t hi s means t ha t t he fields do not depend
on t he z- coor di nat e.
The total phot on f l ux
The next t as k is t o const r uct t he Poynt i ng vect or and t he phot on flux
from t he electric and magnet i c fields. The t r ansver se electric field E =
(Ex, Ey, 0) is obt ai ned from Eq. (3.4) as
E (aJ, k ) = i k A ~ (a~, k )
in t he wave- number r epr esent at i on, where use has been made of A - 0
[which is a consequence of v - 0 in (3.61)]. In a first st ep, we per f or m
onl y t he inverse Fouri er t r ans f or m in t he z-di rect i on t o get
E (a~, k z ) 2 - 2 Z 2 e 2 k 2 f 2 ( _ k 2)
7l- V 2 k4 , (3.64)
where k 2 and k~_ are connect ed by Eq. (3.63). So far, no appr oxi mat i on
has been i nt r oduced. Whe n cal cul at i ng t he l ongi t udi nal electric field and
t he magnet i c field from Eq. (3.5), we t ake t he limit v ~ c. Then u ~ =
~(c, 0, 0, c) in Eq. (3.61), so t hat A~ - (A ~ 0, 0, A ~ and, because of kz =
a~/c, t he l ongi t udi nal field in Eq. (3.8) is
Ez - - F ~ - i ( ~ A 3 - kz A~ - 0 .
\
In t hi s limit, t her e are onl y t r ansver se fields wi t h I E I - ]BI, and t he pul se
P2 di scussed in Sec. 3.4.1 is di scarded.
We have now ever yt hi ng needed t o cal cul at e t he ener gy flux (3.39) and
t o i nt er pr et it as an equi val ent flux of phot ons wi t h posi t i ve frequencies w.
In or der t o est abl i sh t he i dent i fi cat i on, we i nt egr at e S over t i me and over
t he coor di nat e pl ane per pendi cul ar t o v.
/ / /
c da~ dx dy [E (a~ r)]e
dt dx dy S = 27r
- - ekx k
27r
~ 0 (:x:)
= d(h ) (3.65)
58 CHAPTER 3. FIELDS OF MOVING CHARGES
In t he first equat i on, a fact or of two arises from IE(-w)l- IE(w)l, si mi l arl y
as in Eq. (3.42); in t he second equat i on, t he remai ni ng Fouri er t r ansf or ma-
t i on is performed in t he x, y-plane, wi t h t he aid of t he Parseval rel at i on
[Mes62], t hat is, t he invariance of t he scalar pr oduct under Fouri er t rans-
format i ons. The last equat i on defines t he number of equivalent phot ons per
energy unit. It leads t o t he identification
N(hw) - 2e2 Z2f km~x k 3 f 2 ( - k 2 ) dk (3.66)
[ k + '
where we recall t hat f ( - k 2) = 1 for a movi ng poi nt charge. For a con-
st ant form factor, t he i nt egral diverges l ogari t hmi cal l y at t he upper limit
as km~x ~ oc. It is t herefore necessary t o i nt roduce t he cut-off par amet er
km~x = 1/ro wi t h r0 havi ng t he di mensi on of a length. Thi s cut-off precisely
reflects t he cut-off bmin t hat we had t o i nt roduce for t he i mpact par amet er
in Eq. (3.48). For a poi nt charge, t he i nt egral (3.66) can be carri ed out.
Di scardi ng t er ms t hat are negligible for large values of km~x we obt ai n
N ( h w ) _ 2 e2 Z2 ( 7c 1)
7~ hc hw in . (3.67)
wro 2
Thi s resul t is i dent i cal t o Eq. (3.52) in t he limit v ~ c if t he cut-off radi us
r0 is identified wi t h bmin and t he numeri cal fact or 1.123 of Eq. (3.52) is
repl aced wi t h 1. These mi nor differences are all wi t hi n t he limits of accur acy
i nherent in t he met hod.
If t he form fact or fhcs(--k 2) of Eq. (3.57) or f Gauss( - k 2) of Eq. (3.58) is
i nsert ed in (3.66), t he i nt egral converges at t he upper limit, so t hat we can
t ake kmax - oc. Nevertheless, very large wave number s may correspond
t o i mpact par amet er s t hat are smaller t han t he radi us R0 of t he proj ect i l e
nucleus. In this case, t he assumpt i on of a rect i l i near t r aj ect or y breaks down
and, furt hermore, a mut ual penet r at i on of t he colliding nuclei will occur,
so t ha t nucl ear react i ons can proceed in addi t i on t o t he el ect romagnet i c
processes.
The impact parameter-dependent photon flux
For some appl i cat i ons, it is useful t o know t he i mpact par amet er dependence
of t he phot on flux. Si mi l arl y as in Eq. (3.64), we find by an addi t i onal
Fouri er t r ansf or mat i on in t he i mpact par amet er pl ane t hat
I E ( a , , b , z ) ] 2 _ 1
- 2 ~ 3 ( Z e ) 2
f k f 2 ( - k 2 ) eik
d2k k 2
V
2
. b
(3.68)
3.4. EQUIVALENT-PHOTON METHOD 59
In t he limit v --, c and wi t h t he i dent i fi cat i on of Eq. (3.65) (for posi t i ve
frequencies w), we get for t he phot on flux in t he infinitesimal ar ea of t he
i mpact par amet er pl ane bet ween b and b + db and bet ween t he azi mut h
and p + d~ t he result
aZ 2
N(hw, b) - 4
f d k k
f ( k ~ + w2/~2v 2) eik b
k~ + ~2/~2v 2
aZ 2
= 4 - ~
~o ~ k2 dk f (k~_ w2/,,/2 v 2)
27r k~ + ~2 /~,2v2
Jl(k
2
, (3.69)
where J1 is t he Bessel funct i on of t he first ki nd and order one. In t he first
i nt egral of Eq. (3.69), only t he component of k paral l el t o b cont ri but es
t o t he i nt egral over t he azi mut hal angle bet ween k and b. By i nt egrat -
ing N(hw, b) over t he i mpact par amet er plane, we ret ri eve Eq. (3.66). The
resul t (3.69) can, of course, also be obt ai ned di rect l y from Eq. (3.43); how-
ever, for i nt r oduci ng t he form fact or f ( - k 2) and t he ext r eme rel at i vi st i c
limit, t he wave number r epr esent at i on appl i ed here is more convenient.
For a poi nt charge, Eq. (3.46) tells us t hat t he correspondi ng phot on
flux can be wr i t t en as
N( hw, b) - ~2 hw
[ 1 l
9 - : K ~ ( ~ ) + V K g ( ~ ) , ( 3 . 7 0 )
where ( = wb/~/v, while K1 and /4o are t he modified Bessel funct i ons of
order one and zero, respectively. In Fig. 10.12 of See. 10.2, we compar e
t he influences of various form factors on t he i mpact par amet er - dependent
phot on di st r i but i ons N(hw, b) for a fixed Lorent z fact or ~/ = 3500.
In t hi s section, we have cal cul at ed t he frequency s pect r um of equivalent
phot ons represent i ng t he t r ansi ent el ect r omagnet i c field of a movi ng charge.
In Chap. 10, we appl y and ext end t hese resul t s t o est i mat e t he cross section
for el ect r on- posi t r on pai r product i on. By repl aci ng t he el ect r omagnet i c
fields gener at ed by bot h of t he colliding nuclei by equi val ent phot ons, one
can cal cul at e pai r pr oduct i on cross sections from t he known correspondi ng
cross sections for phot on- phot on collisions.
In appl yi ng t he equi val ent - phot on met hod, one has t o be aware of t he
l i mi t at i ons arising from t he assumpt i on of real phot ons and from t he as-
sumpt i on of a const ant field across t he t r ansver se ext ensi on of t he per t ur bed
syst em. The l at t er rest ri ct i on may i nval i dat e t he met hod for i mpact pa-
r amet er s smal l er t han t he Compt on wavel engt h of t he electron.