The Hamiltonian for a particle of mass m, charge e and position vector q=(x,y,z), moving in an electromagnetic field, is given by
H(p,q,t)=2m1(p−ceA)2
where A(q,t) is the vector potential. Write down Hamilton's equations and use them to derive the equations of motion for the charged particle.
Show that, when A=(−yB0(z,t),0,0), there are solutions for which px=0 and for which the particle motion is such that
dt2d2y=−Ω2y
where Ω=eB0/(mc). Show in addition that the Hamiltonian may be written as
H=2m(dtdz)2+E′
where
E′=2m((dtdy)2+Ω2y2)
Assuming that B0 is constant, find the action
I(E′,B0)=2π1∮m(dtdy)dy
associated with the y motion.
It is now supposed that B0 varies on a time-scale much longer than Ω−1 and thus is slowly varying. Show by applying the theory of adiabatic invariance that the motion in the z direction takes place under an effective potential and give an expression for it.