Special Relativity
Syllabus, Master's level, 1FA156
- Code
- 1FA156
- Education cycle
- Second cycle
- Main field(s) of study and in-depth level
- Physics A1N
- Grading system
- Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail (U)
- Finalised by
- The Faculty Board of Science and Technology, 13 March 2014
- Responsible department
- Department of Physics and Astronomy
Entry requirements
120 credits with Linear Algebra II and Mechanics III.
Learning outcomes
A student who has successfully passed the course should be able to
- transform displacements, velocities, momenta, etc. from one inertial frame to another
- explain and compute doppler shifts, aberrations and other light phenomena
- determine outcomes of relativistic colissions including Compton scattering
- explain the concept of the stress-tensor and determine it in different inertial frames
- write down Maxwell's equations in covariant form
- solve Maxwell's equations in the vacuum for various situations, including a radiating particle
Content
Lorenz transformations: Minkowski space. Interval, proper time. Rotation group and Lorenz group. 4-vectors. Dirac and Majorana spinors.
Relativistic Mechanics: 4-velocity and 4-momentum. Relativistic particles. 4-force and 4-acceleration. Energy-momentum conservation. Collisions.
Relativistic treatment of electromagnetism: 4-vectors for electric charge and current density, tensor form of electromagnetic fields. Relativistic motion for a point charge in an electromagnetic field. Maxwell's equations in covariant form. Electromagnetic wave equation.
Instruction
Lectures and tutorials.
Assessment
Written examination.
In addition there are hand-in problems. Credit points from these are included only in the regular exam and the first regular re-exam.
Other regulations
The course may not be included in the same higher education qualifications as 1FA154 Analytical mechanics and special relativity.