Jackson notes 2011

1 Spherical multipole moments

Suppose we have a charge distribution (x) where all of the charge is con-
tained within a spherical region of radius R. Then for r > R we may write the
potential in spherical coordinates as:
(r, , ) =
1
4
0

X
l=0
+l
X
m=l
4
2l + 1
q
lm
r
l+1
Y
lm
(, ) (1)
where the constants 4/ (2l + 1) have been included for future convenience. We
may also write the potential in terms of the charge density as:
(r, , ) =
1
4
0
Z
(x
0
)
|x x
0
|
d
3
x
0
(2)
and then expand the factor 1/ |x x
0
| in spherical harmonics using J eqn 3.70
(r, , ) =
1
4
0
Z
(x
0
)
X
lm
4
2l + 1
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
Y
lm
(, ) Y

lm

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
=
1
4
0
X
lm
4
2l + 1
Y
lm
(, )
Z
(x
0
)
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
Y

lm

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
The integral is over the entire volume where is not zero, which is inside the
sphere of radius R. Then since r
0
< R and r > R, we have r
<
= r
0
and r
>
= r,
1
so
(r, , ) =
1
4
0
X
lm
4
2l + 1
Y
lm
(, )
r
l+1
Z
(x
0
) (r
0
)
l
Y

lm

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
(3)
and then comparing equations (1) and (3) we nd
q
lm
=
Z
(x
0
) (r
0
)
l
Y

lm

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
(4)
These are the spherical multipole moments of the source. With l = 1 we have
the dipole, l = 2 the quadrupole etc.
2 Cartesian multipole moments
This time we expand
1
|xx
0
|
in expression (2) in a Taylor series about x
0
= 0:
(x) = k
Z
(x
0
)

1
r
+ x
0

0 1
R

x
0
=0
+
1
2
3
X
i,j=1
x
0
i
x
0
j

x
0
i

x
0
j
1
R

x
0
=0
+

d
3
x
0
Now lets evaluate the derivatives:
x
0

0 1
R

x
0
=0
= x
0

(x x
0
)
R
3

x
0
=0
= x
0

x
r
3
and

x
0
i

x
0
j
1
R

x
0
=0
=

x
0
i

x
j
x
0
j

R
3

x
0
=0
=

ij
R
3
+ 3
(x
i
x
0
i
)

x
j
x
0
j

R
5

x
0
=0
=

ij
r
3
+ 3
x
i
x
j
r
5
Putting these expressions back into the integrals, we get:
(x) = k
Z
(x
0
)

1
r
+x
0

x
r
3
+
1
2
X
i,j
x
0
i
x
0
j

3
x
i
x
j
r
5


ij
r
3

d
3
x
0
= k

1
r
Z
(x
0
) d
3
x
0
+
x
r
3

Z
x
0
(x
0
) d
3
x
0
+
1
2
X
i,j
Z
3
x
i
x
j
r
5


ij
r
3

(x
0
) x
0
i
x
0
j
d
3
x
0
+

The rst two terms are easily integrated to give:

(x) = k
q
r
+ k
p x
r
3
+
k
r
5
X
i,j
Z

3x
i
x
j
r
2

ij

(x
0
)
x
0
i
x
0
j
2
d
3
x
0
+
2
where q is the total charge in the distribution and
p =
Z
(x
0
) x
0
d
3
x
0
(5)
is the Cartesian dipole moment. The last term needs some work, since we would
like to express the result in terms of the quadrupole tensor:
Q
ij

Z
(x
0
)

3x
0
i
x
0
j
(r
0
)
2

ij

d
3
x
0
(6)
but our integral has unprimed variables where we need primes. However, the
rst term is symmetric in primed and unprimed variables, while the second is
non-zero only if i = j. The second term is:
(x
0
)
2
r
2
+ (y
0
)
2
r
2
+ (z
0
)
2
r
2
= (r
0
)
2
r
2
= (r
0
)
2
x
2
+ (r
0
)
2
y
2
+ (r
0
)
2
z
2
and so we may interchange prime and unprime and rewrite the integral as:
Z
(x
0
)
X
i,j
x
0
i
x
0
j

3x
i
x
j
r
2

ij

d
3
x
0
=
X
i,j
x
i
x
j
Z
(x
0
)

3x
0
i
x
0
j

r
0

ij

d
3
x
0
=
X
i,j
x
i
x
j
Q
ij
Thus we have for the potential
(x) = k
q
r
+ k
p x
r
3
+
k
2
X
i,j
x
i
x
j
r
5
Q
ij
+ (7)
The quadrupole tensor Q
ij
(6) is symmetric, real-valued and traceless. It has
three real eigenvalues.
3 Relations between the two sets of multipoles
Comparing the expressions (1) and (7) allows us to relate the two sets of com-
ponents. Both expressions are series in increasing powers of 1/r.
The l = 0 (1/r) term is the monopole term. From equation (4) with
l = m = 0,
q
00
=
Z
(x
0
) Y

00

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
=
1

4
Z
(x
0
) d
3
x
0
=
q

4
and the rst term in the spherical multipole expansion (1) is

0
= k4
q
00
r
Y
00
= k4
q

4
1
r
1

4
= k
q
r
which is also the rst term in expression (7).
3
With l = 1 ( 1/r
2
term) there are three contributions, with m = 1 and
zero. First note that
q
l,m
=
Z
(x
0
) (r
0
)
l
Y

lm

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
= (1)
m
Z
(x
0
) (r
0
)
l
Y
lm

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
= (1)
m
q

lm
So there are actually only two values to calculate.
With l = 1, m = 0
q
10
=
Z
(x
0
) r
0
Y

10

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
=
Z
(x
0
) r
0
r
3
4
cos
0
d
3
x
0
q
10
=
r
3
4
Z
(x
0
) z
0
d
3
x
0
=
r
3
4
p
z
(8)
and with l = 1, m = 1
q
11
=
Z
(x
0
) r
0
Y

11

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
=
Z
(x
0
) r
0
r
3
8
sin
0
e
i
0
d
3
x
0
=
r
3
8
Z
(x
0
) (x
0
iy
0
) d
3
x
0
q
11
=
r
3
8
(ip
y
p
x
) (9)
Equivalently,
p
x
=
r
2
3
(q
11
+ q

11
) , p
y
=
1
i
r
2
3
(q
11
q

11
) , p
z
=
r
4
3
q
10
(10)
4
The corresponding term in the potential is

1
=
1
4
0
+1
X
m=1
4
3
q
1m
r
2
Y
1m
(, )
=
1
4
0
r
2
4
3
(q
11
Y
11
(, ) + q
10
Y
10
+ q
1,1
Y
1,1
)
=
1
4
0
r
2
4
3
(q
11
Y
11
(, ) + q
10
Y
10
+ (1) q

11
(1) Y

11
)
=
1
3
0
r
2
"
r
3
8
(ip
y
p
x
)
r
3
8
(sin) e
i
+
r
3
4
p
z
r
3
4
cos
+
r
3
8
(ip
y
p
x
)
r
3
8
(sin) e
i
#
=
1
4
0
r
2
[p
z
cos + p
x
sin cos + p
y
sin sin] =
p r
4
0
r
2
With l = 2 (1/r
3
term) we have m = 2, 1, and 0. The multipole moment q
20
is
q
20
=
Z
(x
0
) (r
0
)
2
Y

20

0
,
0

d
3
x
0
=
Z
(x
0
) (r
0
)
2
1
2
r
5
4

3 cos
2

0
1

d
3
x
0
=
1
2
r
5
4
Z
(x
0
)
h
3 (z
0
)
2
(r
0
)
2
i
d
3
x
0
q
20
=
1
2
r
5
4
Q
33
(11)
Similarly we may show that
q
21
=
1
3
r
15
8
(iQ
23
Q
13
) (12)
and
q
22
=
1
12
r
15
2
(Q
11
Q
22
2iQ
12
) (13)
Equivalently:
Q
11
Q
22
= Re

12
r
2
15
q
22
!
and so on. We have 3 independent values of q
2m
, and q
21
and q
22
each have a
real and imaginary part, giving us 5 real numbers, but there are 6 independent
values Q
ij
in a symmetric rank 2 tensor. However, the six values are not all
independent as we have the additional constraint that Q
ij
is traceless. For the
extension of this discussion to higher multipoles, see Jackson problem 4.3.
5
Example
A ring of charge of radius a carries linear charge density =
0
cos . Lets
nd the multipole moments and the potential for r > a.
The ring is most easily described in spherical coordinates, so lets rst nd
the spherical multipoles. With polar axis along the axis of the ring, the charge
density is (Lea Example 6.7)
(x) =

0
cos () (r a)
r
and thus
q
lm
=
Z
(x) r
l
Y

lm
(, ) d
3
x
=
Z

0
cos () (r a)
r
r
l
Y

lm
(, ) d
3
x
=
0
s
2l + 1
4
(l m)!
(l + m)!
Z
cos () (r a) r
l+1
P
m
l
() e
im
dddr
Using the sifting property, we have immediately
q
lm
=
0
s
2l + 1
4
(l m)!
(l + m)!
a
l+1
P
m
l
(0)
Z
2
0
cos e
im
d
=
0
s
2l + 1
4
(l m)!
(l + m)!
a
l+1
P
m
l
(0)
Z
2
0

e
i
+ e
i
2

e
im
d
=
0
s
2l + 1
4
(l m)!
(l + m)!
a
l+1
P
m
l
(0) (
m1
+
m,1
)
Thus
q
l,1
=
0

r
2l + 1
4
a
l+1
s
(l 1)!
(l + 1)!
P
1
l
(0)
We must have l > 0, since with l = 0 there is no m = 1. We also need l + 1 to
be even so that P
1
l
(0) is not zero. Thus we have all multipoles of odd order,
and m = 1. We can further simplify using
q
l,1
= q

l1
so, since q
l1
is real,
q
l,1
Y
l,1
= (1)
2
q

l,1
Y

l1
= q
l,1
Y

l1
Thus
q
l1
Y
l1
+ q
l,1
Y
l,1
= q
l1
(Y
l1
+ Y

l1
)
=
0

r
2l + 1
4
a
l+1
s
(l 1)!
(l + 1)!
P
1
l
(0)
s
2l + 1
4
(l 1)!
(l + 1)!
P
1
l
() 2 cos
=
0
a
l+1
2l + 1
2
(l 1)!
(l + 1)!
P
1
l
(0) P
1
l
() cos
6
Thus the potential for r > a is
=
1
4
0

X
l=1, odd
4
2l + 1

0
a
l+1
r
l+1
2l + 1
2
(l 1)!
(l + 1)!
P
1
l
(0) P
1
l
() cos
=

0
2
0

X
l=1, odd
a
l+1
r
l+1
(l 1)!
(l + 1)!
P
1
l
(0) P
1
l
() cos
=

0
cos
2
0

a
2
r
2
1
2
sin +
a
4
r
4
2
4!
3
2
3
2

1 5 cos
2

sin +

=

0
sin cos
4
0
a
2
r
2

1 +
3
8
a
2
r
2

1 5 cos
2

The dominant term is a dipole, because the ring has zero net charge. The
dipole moment is (cf eqn 7)
p =
0
a
2
x
as expected from (5).
p =
Z

0
cos () (r a)
r
r
h
z +
p
1
2
(cos x + sin y)
i
r
2
drdd
=
0
a
2
x
The next term is the octupole (l = 3) term. The potential has the same
azimuthal dependence (cos ) as the charge density.
Multipole moments are very important in computing the radiation from a
time-dependent charge distribution. (See Ch 9.)
4 A surprising result
Let us evaluate the integral:
Z

E (x) d
3
x
where the integral is over a sphere of radius R that contains all the sources of

E,
as shown in the diagram. We express the electric eld in terms of the potential,
and convert to a surface integral:
7
Z

E d
3
x =
Z

dV =
Z
S
n dA =
Z
S
nR
2
d
= k
Z
S
Z
all space
(x
0
)
|x x
0
|
dV
0
nR
2
d
= k
Z
S
Z
all space
(x
0
)
X
l
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos ) dV
0
nR
2
d
where we have used the usual expansion of 1/ |x x
0
| , and k = 1/4
0
. Now
we interchange the order of integration, and put the polar axis along the vector
x
0
. Then we can write n in Cartesian components as:
n = xsin cos + ysin sin +z cos
where is the angle between x and x
0
, to obtain:
Z

E d
3
x = k
Z
all
space
Z
2
0
Z
+1
1
(x
0
)
X
l
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l

( xsin cos + ysin sin +z cos ) R

2
d

ddV
0
The xand ycomponents vanish upon integration over , leaving:
Z

E d
3
x = k
Z
all space
2
Z
+1
1
(x
0
)

X
l=0
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos ) z cos R
2
d

dV
0
8
Now since cos = P
1
(cos ) , orthogonality of the P
l
requires that only the l = 1
term survive the integration over . Then eqn (3.21) with l = 1 gives
Z

E d
3
x = k
Z
all space
2
2
3
(x
0
)
r
<
r
2
>
zR
2
dV
0
Now x is on the surface of the sphere, where |x| = r = R, and |x
0
| = r
0
< r
(because all of the charge is inside the sphere). Also we chose our polar axis
along x
0
, so z = r
0
. Thus:
Z
sphere

E d
3
x =
4
3
k
Z
all space
(x
0
)
r
0
R
2
r
0
R
2
dV
0
=
1
3
0
Z
all space
(x
0
) x
0
dV
0
=
p
3
0
(14)
where p is the dipole moment with respect to the center of the sphere.
This is a completely general result: we did not need to say anything about
the details of the charge distribution.
Now lets look at the usual expression for the potential due to an ideal
point dipole:
= k
p x
r
3
The electric eld is:

E =

= k

p
r
3
3
x
r
5
p x

(15)
(Here we used the expression for

from Js front cover, together with

the fact that p is a constant vector, x/r
3
=

(1/r) , and the curl of a gradient

is zero. See also Jackson 4.13. ) With this electric eld, we have:
Z
sphere

E d
3
x =
Z
sphere
k

p
r
3
3
x
r
5
( p x)

d
3
x
Put the polar axis along p, so that:
Z
sphere

E d
3
x =
Z
sphere
k

p
r
3
3
r
r
3
p cos

r
2
drd
Now
r = pcos + xsin cos + ysin sin
Again the x and ycomponents vanish when we perform the integration.
Thus:
Z
sphere

E d
3
x = 2k
Z
R
0
Z
+1
1
p
r

1 3 cos
2

ddr
= 2k
Z
R
0
p
r

+1
1
dr = 0
9
How can this be? We should have obtained k
4
3
p (equation 14). The problem
is that when we took the derivatives to get the eld (eqn. 15), those operations
are not valid at the origin. There is a missing delta-function! You can also
understand this by looking at the eld line diagram for a pair of equal and
opposite point charges. As the separation goes to zero, the eld lines between
the charges (whose direction is opposite p) get packed into zero space the eld
becomes innite!
For consistency, the dipole eld must be:

E
dipole
= k

p
r
3
3
x
r
5
p x

4
3
k p (x) (16)
To see why this result makes sense, lets look again at the derivative of the
potential:
= k
p x
r
3
= k p

1
r

Thus, with zaxis along p,

= k

1
r

= kp

z

1
r

whereas

2
1
r
=

1
r

= 4 (x) (17)
Now

1
r

is only one of the three second derivatives in the standard delta-function result
(17), which helps us to understand the factor of 1/3 in equation (16). We can
understand the direction by looking at the eld line diagram.
To understand the magnitude, look at the elecric eld half way between two
point charges separated by a displacement

d:

E = 2
kq
(d/2)
2

d =
kq
(d/2)
3

d
=
k p
(d/2)
3
=
4k
3
p
4
3

d
2

3
Now in the limit d 0 the dipole moment density p/

4(d/2)
3
3

p (x) and
so

E
4k
3
p (x)
which is what we obtained in (16).
We can write our result (16) as a purely mathematical statement:

1
r

z
1
r

z
r
3
3
x
r
5
z x

4
3
(x) z (18)
Youll need this result in problem 6.20.
10
5 Energy
If our charge distribution is now placed in an external eld

E
ext
=

ext
, the
energy of the system is (Notes 2 eqn 3. Do you understand why there is no
factor of 1/2 here?)
U =
Z
V
(x)
ext
(x) d
3
x
To exhibit the result in terms of the multipoles of the charge distribution, we
expand the external potential in a Taylor series about the origin;
U =
Z
V
(x)

ext
(0) +x

ext

0
+
1
2
x
i
x
j

x
i

x
j

ext

0
+

d
3
x
=
ext
(0) q

E
ext
(0) p
1
2
E
ext,j
x
i

0
Z
V
(x) x
i
x
j
d
3
x +
where p is the dipole moment with respect to the same origin O. We want to
express the third term in terms of the Q
ij
, but we are missing a term. We can
add it in because it is zero! Since the sources of the external eld

E
ext
are not
in the volume V that contains the charge , then

E
ext
= 0 in V
Thus
1
2
E
ext.j
x
i

0
Z
V
(x) x
i
x
j
d
3
x =
1
2
E
ext.j
x
i

0
Z
V
(x)

x
i
x
j

r
2
3

ij

d
3
x
=
1
6
E
ext.j
x
i

0
Q
ij
Thus
U =
ext
(0) q

E
ext
(0) p
1
6
E
ext.j
x
i

0
Q
ij
+ (19)
The second term shows that a dipole is in stable equilbrium in an external eld
when it is aligned parallel to

E
ext
. (This is the minimum energy state.)
Similar techniques may be used to express the force on a charge distribution
in terms of its multipoles, as in J problem 4.5.
11