Completing the Lienard-Wiechert potentials: The origin of the delta function fields for a charged particle in hyperbolic motion

摘要

Calculating the electromagnetic fields of a uniformly accelerated charged particle is a surprisingly subtle problem that has been long discussed in the literature. In particular, the fields calculated from the Lienard-Wiechert potentials fail to satisfy Maxwell's equations. While the correct fields have been obtained many times and through various means, it has remained unclear why the standard approach fails. We identify and amend the faulty step in the Lienard-Wiechert construction and provide a new direct calculation of the fields and potentials for a charge in hyperbolic motion. (C) 2015 American Association of Physics Teachers.