Chapter Highlights

1. The Grand Cube of Theoretical Physics

The ‘big picture’ of theoretical physics can be nicely summarized
in terms of a unit cube made of the fundamental constants G, h̄, c−1
representing the three axes. The vertices and linkages of this cube —
which we will explore in different chapters of this book — allow you
to appreciate different phenomena and their inter-relationships. This
chapter introduces the Cube of Theoretical Physics and relates it to
the rest of the book.

2. The Emergence of Classical Physics

Quantum physics works with probability amplitudes while classical
physics assumes deterministic evolution for the dynamical variables.
For example, in non-relativistic quantum mechanics, you will solve
the Schrodinger equation in a potential to obtain the wave function
ψ (t, q), while the same problem — when solved classically — will
lead to a trajectory q(t). How does a deterministic trajectory arise
from the foggy world of quantum uncertainty? We will explore sev-
eral aspects of this correspondence in this chapter, some of which
are nontrivial. You will discover the real meaning of the Hamilton-
Jacobi equation (without the usual canonical transformations, gen-
erating functions and other mumbo-jumbo) and understand why the
Hamilton-Jacobi equation told us pa = ∂a S = (−∂t S, ∇S) = (E, p )
even before the days of four vectors and special relativity. We will
also address the question of why the Lagrangian is equal to kinetic
energy minus potential energy (or is it, really?) and why there are only
two classical fields, electromagnetism and gravity. In fact, you will
see that classical physics makes better sense as a limit of quantum
physics!

IX
X Chapter Highlights

3. Orbits of Planets are Circles!

The orbits of planets, or any other body moving under an inverse
square law force, can be understood in a simple manner using the
idea of the velocity space. Surprisingly, a particle moving in an el-
lipse, parabola or a hyperbola in real space moves in a circle in the
velocity space. This approach allows you to solve the Kepler problem
in just two steps! We will also explore the peculiar symmetry of the
Lagrangian that leads to the conservation of the Runge-Lenz vector
and the geometrical insights that it provides. Proceeding to the rela-
tivistic versions of Kepler/Coulomb problem you will discover why
the forces must be velocity dependent in a relativistic theory and de-
scribe a new feature in the special relativistic Coulomb problem, viz.
the existence of orbits spiraling to the center.

4. The Importance of being Inverse-square

This chapter continues the exploration started in the previous one.
The Coulomb problem, which corresponds to motion in a potential
that varies as r−1 , has a peculiar symmetry which leads to a phe-
nomenon known as ‘accidental’ degeneracy. This feature exists both
in the classical and quantum domains and allows some interesting,
alternative ways to understand, e.g., the hydrogen atom spectrum. We
will see how one can find the energy levels of the hydrogen atom
without solving the Schrodinger equation and how to map the 3D
Coulomb problem to a 4D harmonic oscillator problem. The (1/r)
nature of the potential also introduces several peculiarities in the scat-
tering problem and we will investigate the questions: (i) How come
quantum Coulomb scattering leads exactly to the Rutherford formula?
What happened to the h̄? (ii) How come the Born approximation gives
the exact result for the Coulomb potential? What do the ‘unBorn’
terms contribute?!

5. Potential surprises in Newtonian Gravity

How unique is the distribution of matter which will produce a given
Newtonian gravitational field in a region of space? For example, can a
non-spherical distribution of matter produce a strictly inverse square
force outside the source? Can a non-planar distribution of matter pro-
duce a strictly constant gravitational force in some region? We dis-
cuss the rather surprising answers to these questions in this chapter.
It turns out that the relation between the density distribution and the
gravitational force is far from what one would have naively imagined
from the textbook examples.

6. Lagrange and his Points

A solution to the 3-body problem in gravity, due to Lagrange, has
several remarkable features. In particular, it describes a situation in
Chapter Highlights XI

which a particle, located at the maxima of a potential, remains stable

against small perturbations. We will learn a simple way of obtaining
this equilateral solution to the three body problem and understanding
its stability.

7. Getting the most of it!

Extremum principles play a central role in theoretical physics in many
guises. We will discuss, in this chapter, some curious features associ-
ated with a few unusual variational problems. We start with a simple
way to solve the standard brachistochrone problem and address the
question: How come the cycloid solves all the chron-ic problems?
(Or does it, really?). We then consider the brachistochrone problem
in a real, (1/r2 ), gravitational field and describe a new feature which
arises: viz. the existence of a forbidden zone in space not accessi-
ble to brachistochrone curves! We will also determine the shape of a
planet that exerts the maximum possible gravitational force at a point
on its surface — a shape which does not even have a name! Finally,
we take up the formation of the rainbows with special emphasis on
the question: Where do you look for the tertiary (3rd order) rainbow?

8. Surprises in Fluid Flows

The idealized flow of a fluid around a body is a classic text book
problem in fluid mechanics. Interestingly enough, it leads to some
curious twists and conceptual conundrums. In particular, it leads a
surprising divergence which needs to be regularized even in the text
book case of fluid flow past a sphere!

9. Isochronous Curiosities: Classical and Quantum

The oscillatory motion of a particle in a one dimensional potential be-
longs to a class of exactly solvable problems in classical mechanics.
This chapter examines some lesser known aspects of this problem in
classical and quantum mechanics. It turns out that both V (x) = ax2
and V (x) = ax2 + bx−2 have (1) periods of oscillation which are in-
dependent of amplitude in classical physics and (2) equally spaced
energy levels in quantum theory. We will explore several features
of this curious correspondence. We will also discuss the question of
determining the potential from the period of oscillation (in classical
physics) or from the energy levels (in quantum physics) which are
closely related and clarify several puzzling features related to this is-
sue.

10. Logarithms of Nature

Scaling arguments and dimensional analysis are powerful tools in
physics which help you to solve several interesting problems. And
when the scaling arguments fail, as in the examples discussed in this
XII Chapter Highlights

chapter, we are led to a more fascinating situation. A simple example

in electrostatics leads to infinities in the Poisson equation and we get
a finite E from an infinite φ ! I also describe the quantum energy lev-
els in the delta function potentials and show how QFT helps you to
understand QM better!

11. Curved Spacetime for pedestrians

The spacetime around a spherical body plays a key role in general
relativity and is used in the crucial tests of Einstein’s theory of gravity.
This spacetime geometry is usually obtained by solving Einstein’s
equations. I will show how this metric can be obtained by a simple
— but strange — trick. Along the way, you will also learn a three-
step proof as to why gravity must be geometry, the reason why the
Lagrangian for a particle in a Newtonian gravitational field is kinetic
energy minus potential energy and how to obtain the orbit equation in
GR, just from the principle of equivalence.

12. Black hole is a Hot Topic

A fascinating result in black hole physics is that they are not really
black! They glow as though they have a surface temperature which
arises due to purely quantum effects. I will provide a simple deriva-
tion of this hot result based on the interpretation of a plane wave by
different observers.

13. Thomas and his Precession

Thomas precession is a curious effect in special relativity which is
purely kinematical in origin. But it illustrates some important features
of the Lorentz transformation and possesses a beautiful geometric in-
terpretation. We will explore the physical reason for Thomas preces-
sion and its geometrical meaning in this chapter and in the next.

14. When Thomas met Foucault

The Foucault pendulum is an elegant device that demonstrates the
rotation of the Earth. We describe a paradox related to the Foucault
pendulum and provide a geometrical approach to determine the ro-
tation of the plane of the pendulum. By introducing a natural metric
in the velocity space we obtain an interesting geometrical relationship
between the dynamics of the Foucault pendulum and the Thomas pre-
cession discussed in the previous chapter. This approach helps us to
understand both phenomena better.

15. The One-body Problem

You might have thought that the one-body problem in physics is triv-
ial. Far from it! One can look at the free particle in an inertial or
a non-inertial frame, relativistically or non-relativistically, in flat or
Chapter Highlights XIII

in curved spacetime, classically or quantum mechanically. All these

bring in curious correspondences in which the more exact theory pro-
vides valuable insights about the approximate description. I start with
the surprising — and not widely appreciated — result that you really
can’t get a sensible free-particle Lagrangian in non-relativistic me-
chanics while you can do it in relativistic mechanics. In a similar vein,
the solution to the Klein-Gordon equation transforms as a scalar un-
der coordinate transformations, while the solution to the Schrodinger
equation does not. These conundrums show that classical mechanics
makes more sense as a limiting case of special relativity and the non-
relativistic Schrodinger equation is simpler to understand as a limiting
case of the relativistic Klein-Gordon equation!

16. The Straight and Narrow Path of Waves

Discovering unexpected connections between completely different
phenomena is always a delight in physics. In this chapter and the next,
we will look at one such connection between two unlikely phenom-
ena: propagation of light and the path integral approach to quantum
field theory! This chapter introduces the notion of paraxial optics in
which we throw away half the solutions and still get useful results!
I also describe the role of optical systems and how the humble lens
acts as an analog device that performs Fourier transforms. In passing,
you will also learn how Faraday’s law leads to diffraction of light.

17. If Quantum Mechanics is the Paraxial Optics, then .....

The quantum mechanical amplitude for a particle to propagate from
event to event in spacetime shows some nice similarities with the cor-
responding propagator for the electromagnetic wave amplitude dis-
cussed in the previous chapter. This raises the question: If quantum
mechanics is paraxial optics, what is the exact theory you get when
you go beyond the paraxial approximation? In the path integral ap-
proach to quantum mechanics you purposely avoid summing over all
the paths while in the path integral approach for a relativistic particle
you are forced to sum over all paths. This fact, along with the parax-
ial optics analogy, provides an interesting insight into the transition
from quantum field theory to quantum mechanics and vice versa! I
also describe why combining the principles of relativity and quantum
theory demands a description in terms of fields.

18. Make it Complex to Simplify

Some of the curious effects in quantum theory and statistical mechan-
ics can be interpreted by analytically continuing the time coordinate
to purely imaginary values. We explore some of these issues in this
chapter. In quantum mechanics, this allows us to determine the prop-
erties of ground state from an approximate evaluation of path inte-
grals. In statistical mechanics this leads to an unexpected connection
XIV Chapter Highlights

between periodicity in imaginary time and temperature. The power of

this approach can be appreciated by the fact that one can derive the
black hole temperature in just a couple of steps using this procedure.
Another application of the imaginary time method is to understand
phenomena like the Schwinger effect which describes the popping out
of particles from the vacuum. Finally, I describe a non-perturbative
result in quantum mechanics, called the over-the-barrier-reflection,
which is easier to understand using complex paths.

19. Nothing matters a lot

The vacuum state of the electromagnetic field is far from trivial.
Amongst other things, it can exert forces that are measurable in the
lab. This curious phenomenon, known as the Casimir effect, is still
not completely understood. I describe how the probability distribu-
tion for the existence of electromagnetic fields in the vacuum can be
understood, just from the knowledge of the quantum mechanics of
the harmonic oscillator. This chapter also introduces you to the tricks
of the trade in quantum field theory, which are essential to get finite
answers from divergent expressions - like to prove that the sum of all
positive integers is a negative fraction!

20. Radiation: Caterpillar becomes Butterfly

The fact that an accelerated charge will radiate energy is considered
an elementary textbook result in electromagnetism. Nevertheless, this
process of radiation (and its reaction on the charged particle) raises
several conundrums about which technical papers are written even
today. In this chapter, we will try to understand how the caterpillar
(1/r2 , radial field) becomes a butterfly (1/r, transverse field) in a sim-
ple, yet completely rigorous, manner without the Lienard-Wiechert
potentials or other red-herrings. I will also discuss some misconcep-
tions about the validity of ∇ · E = 4πρ for radiative fields with retar-
dation effects.

21. Photon: Wave and/or Particle

The interaction of charged particles with blackbody radiation is of
considerable practical and theoretical importance. Practically, it oc-
curs in several astrophysical scenarios. Theoretically, it illustrates
nicely the fact that one can think of the radiation either as a bunch of
photons or as electromagnetic waves and still obtain the same results.
We shall highlight some non-trivial aspects of this correspondence in
this chapter. In particular we will see how the blackbody radiation
leads a double life of being either photons or waves and how the ra-
diative transfer between charged particles and black body radiation
can be derived just from a Taylor series expansion (and a little trick)!
Finally, I will describe the role of radiation reaction force on charged
particles to understand some of these results.
Chapter Highlights XV

22. Angular Momentum without Rotation

Not only mechanical systems, but also electromagnetic fields carry
energy and momentum. What is not immediately apparent is that cer-
tain static electromagnetic configurations (with no rotation in sight)
can also have angular momentum. This leads to surprises when this
angular momentum is transfered to the more tangible rotational mo-
tion of charged particles coupled to the electromagnetic fields. A sim-
ple example described in this chapter illustrates, among other things,
how an observable effect arises from the unobservable vector poten-
tial and why we can be cavalier about gauge invariance in some cir-
cumstances.

23. Ubiquitous Random Walk

What is common to the spread of mosquitoes, sound waves and the
flow of money? They all can be modeled in terms of random walks!
Few processes in nature are as ubiquitous as the random walk which
combines extraordinary simplicity of concept with considerable com-
plexity in the final result. In this and the next chapter, we shall exam-
ine several features of this remarkable phenomenon. In particular, I
will describe the random walk in the velocity space for a system of
gravitating particles. The diffusion in velocity space can’t go on and
on — unlike that in real space — which leads to another interesting
effect known as dynamical friction — first derived by Landau in an
elegant manner.

24. More on Random Walks: Circuits and a Tired Drunkard

We continue our exploration of random walks in this chapter with
some more curious results. We discuss the dimension dependence of
some of the features of the random walk (e.g., why a drunken man
will eventually come home but a drunken bird may not!), describe a
curious connection between the random walk and electrical networks
(which includes some problems you can’t solve by being clever) and
finally discuss some remarkable features of the random walk with
decreasing step-length, which is still not completely understood and
leads to Cantor sets, singularities and the golden ratio — in places
where you don’t expect to see them.

25. Gravitational Instability of the Isothermal Sphere

The statistical mechanics of a system of particles interacting through
gravity leads to several counter-intuitive features. We explore one of
them, called Antonov instability, in this chapter. I describe why the
thermodynamics of gravitating systems is non-trivial and how to ob-
tain the mean-field description of such a system. This leads to a self-
gravitating distribution of mass called the isothermal sphere which
exhibits curious features both from the mathematical and physical
XVI Notations and Conventions

points of view. I provide a simple way of understanding the stability

of this system, which is of astrophysical significance.

26. Gravity bends electric field lines

Field lines of a point charge are like radially outgoing light rays from
a source. You know that the path of light is bent by gravity; do elec-
tric field lines also bend in a gravitational field? Indeed they do, and
— in the simplest context of a constant gravitational field — both
are bent in the same way. Moreover, both form arcs of circles! The
Coulomb potential in a weak gravitational field can be expressed in
a form which has unexpected elegance. The analysis leads to a fresh
insight about electromagnetic radiation as arising from the weight of
electrostatic energy in the rest frame of the charged particle, and also
allows you to obtain Dirac’s formula for the radiation reaction, in
three simple steps.

Notations and Conventions

Most of the notations used in the book are fairly standard. You may want
to take note of the following:
1. I use the Gaussian system of units to describe electromagnetic phe-
nomena; however, conversion to SI units is completely straightforward
in all the relevant chapters.
2. In chapters involving relativity, the Latin letters a, b, ... range over the
spacetime indices 0, 1, 2, 3, while the Greek indices α , β , ... range over
the spatial coordinates 1, 2, 3 with the notation ∂i = (∂ /∂ xi ) for co-
ordinate derivatives. When the discussion does not involve relativistic
physics, this distiction between Latin and Greek subscripts is not main-
tained. The signature for the spacetime is (−, +, +, +) with ηi j = dia
(−1, 1, 1, 1) = η i j . Units with c = 1 are used most of the time though
c is re-introduced when required.
3. All through the book (and not only in chapters dealing with relativity)
I use the summation convention according to which any index repeated
in an algebraic expression is summed over its range of values.
4. In topics dealing with quantum mechanics, I often use units with h̄ = 1,
re-introducing it into the equations only when relevant.
5. In the equations, you will sometimes find the use of the symbol ≡. This
indicates that the equation defines a new variable or notation.