Hamiltonian with strongzstrong as the Independent Variable.pdfVIP

Hamiltonian with z as the Independent Variable Kirk T. McDonald Joseph Henry Laboratories, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (March 19, 2011; updated June 19, 2015) 1 Problem Deduce the form of the Hamiltonian when z rather than t is considered to be the independent variable. Illustrate this for the case of a particle of charge q and mass m in an external electromagnetic field. 2 Solution This solution follows Appendix B of [1]. See also sec. 1.6 of [2]. For simplicity we consider only a single particle. 2.1 Use of t as the Independent Variable We recall the usual Hamiltonian description of a particle of charge q and mass m in external electromagnetic fields E and B, which can be deduced from scalar and vector potentials V and A (in some gauge) according to 1 ∂A E = −∇V − , B = ∇ × A, (1) c ∂t 2 2 2 2 2 H (x, y, z, p , p , p ) = E + qV = c m c + p + p + p + qV (2) t x y z mech mech,x mech,y mech,z = c 2 2 2 2 2 m c + (p − qA /c) + (p − qA /c) + (p − qA /c) + qV, x x y y z z in Gaussian units, where c is the speed of light in vacuum, and the components of p = pmech + qA/c are the canonical momenta associated with coordinates x = (x, y, z). The subscript on Ht indicates that time t is the independent variable in this Hamiltonian. Hamilton’s equations of motion for this case are