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Effect Of Thomas Rotation On The Lorentz Transformation Of Electromagnetic Fields, Lakshya Malhotra, Robert Golub, Eva Kraegeloh, Nima Nouri, Bradley R. Plaster

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

A relativistic particle undergoing successive boosts which are non collinear will experience a rotation of its coordinate axes with respect to the boosted frame. This rotation of coordinate axes is caused by a relativistic phenomenon called Thomas Rotation. We assess the importance of Thomas rotation in the calculation of physical quantities like electromagnetic fields in the relativistic regime. We calculate the electromagnetic field tensor for general three dimensional successive boosts in the particle's rest frame as well as the laboratory frame. We then compare the electromagnetic field tensors obtained by a direct boost [Formula: see text] and successive boosts [Formula: …