Multipole Radiation

Notice that throughout, we use r and n interchangably as the unit radial vector.
Consider a localized, oscillating source, located in otherwise empty space. We know that the solution for
the vector potential (e.g. using the Green function for the outer boundary at innity) is
A(x, t) =

0
4

d
3
x

dt

J(x

, t

)
|x x

_
t

t +
1
c
|x x

|
_
Let the source elds be conned in a region d where is the wavelength of the radiation, and let the
time dependence be harmonic, with frequency ,
A(x, t) = A(x) e
it
J(x, t) = J(x) e
it
(x, t) = (x) e
it
Then
A(x) e
it
=

0
4

d
3
x

dt

J(x

) e
it

|x x

|

_
t

t +
1
c
|x x

|
_
=

0
4

d
3
x

J(x

) e
i(t
1
c
|xx

|)
|x x

|
so that with k =

c
, we have
A(x) =

0
4

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik|xx

|
|x x

|
The electric and magnetic elds follow immediately. We know that B = A, so
H =
1

0
A
while the Maxwell equation, H
D
t
= 0, shows that
i (
0
E) = H
Dividing by
i
0
= ikc
0
=
ik
0

0
= ik
_

0
and dening the impedence of free space, Z =
_
0
0
, gives the electric eld in the form
E =
iZ
k
H
Now we consider the radiation. The problem divides into three approximate regions, depending on the
length scales d and . We assume d . If r is the distance of the observation from the source, we will
consider
d r (static zone)
d r (inductionzone)
d r (radiationzone)
or simply the near, intermediate, and far zones.
1
Near zone
For the near zone,
kr =
2r

1
implies
e
ikr
1
and the potential becomes
A(x) =

0
4
lim
kr0

d
3
x

J(x

)
|x x

|
=

0
4
lim
kr0

l,m
4
2l + 1
Y
lm
(, )
r
l+1

d
3
x

J(x

) r
l
Y

lm
(

)
and the only time dependence is the sinusoidal oscillation, e
it
. The spatial integration depends on the
details of the source.
Far zone
The exponential becomes important in the radiation zone, kr 1. Setting x = r n = rr, we have
|x x

| =
_
r
2
+ x
2
2r n x

= r
_
1 +
x
2
r
2

2
r
n x

and since x
2
r
2
, we may drop the quadratic term and approximate the square root,
|x x

| r
_
1
2
r
n x

r
_
1
1
r
n x

_
= r n x

The potential is then

A(x) =

0
4

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik(r nx

)
r n x

For the lowest order approximation, we neglect the x

term in the denominator,

A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

1
1
r
n x

=

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

_
1 +
1
r
n x

_
=

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

where the last step follows because d implies

1
r
n x

k n x

.
For higher orders in the kx

kd 1, note that powers of kx

decrease rapidly in magnitude. We can

carry a power series in kx

to higher order N in kx

kd as long as we can still neglect

d
r
,
d
r
(kd)
N
2
The expansion is then
A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

=

0
4
e
ikr
r

n=0
(ik)
n
n!

d
3
x

J(x

) ( n x

)
n
and because each term is smaller than the last by a factor on the order of kd, it is only the lowest nonvanishing
moment of the current distribution
d
3
x

J(x

) ( n x

)
n
that dominates the radiation eld.
The radiation zone solution is characteristic of radiation. Returning to lowest order
A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

we note that the integral contributes only angular dependence of the eld,

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

= f (, )
so the waveform is
A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r
f (, )
The potential is therefore a harmonic, radially-expanding waveform, with amplitude decreasing as
1
r
,
A(x, t)
e
i(krt)
r
The magnetic eld is given by
B(x) = A(x)
=
_

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

_
=

0
4
__

e
ikr
r
_

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

_
The rst term is in the direction
n

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

and therefore transverse. Since the gradient includes a term

e
ikr
r
ikn
e
ikr
r
the magnetic eld will fall o as
1
r
.
For the second term

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik(xx

)/r
the gradient gives
e
ik(xx

)/r
= e
ik(xx

)/r
_

ikx

r
+
ik n x

r
n
_
3
The second term is also transverse, so we need only consider

d
3
x

(x

J) e
ik nx

If we think of the exponential as giving a modied source,

J = Je
ik nx

then this integral is just twice the magnetic dipole moment of that source. We know that the resulting
magnetic eld may be written as
B =

0
4
_
3n(n m) m
r
3
_
Although this does have a radial component, the magnitude falls o as the cube of the distance, and is
therefore negligible. The magnetic eld is therefore transverse to the radial direction of propagation.
The electric eld is also dominated by the
e
ikr
ikne
ikr
term, falling o as
1
r
, and therefore being transverse to the radial direction.
Intermediate zone
In the intermediate zone, r , an exact expansion of the Green function is required. This is found by
expanding
G(x, x

) =
e
ik|xx

|
4 |x x

|
in spherical harmonics,
G(x, x

) =

l,m
g
lm
(r, r

) Y
lm
(, ) Y

lm
(

)
and solving the rest of the Helmholtz equation for the radial function. The result is spherical Bessel functions,
j
l
(x) , n
l
(x), and the related spherical Henkel functions, h
(1)
l
, h
(2)
l
, which are essentially Bessel function times
1

r
. They are discussed in Jackson, Section 9.6. The vector potential then takes the form
A(x) = ik
0

l,m
h
(1)
l
(kr) Y
lm
(, )

d
3
x

J(x

) j
l
(kr

) Y

lm
(

)
The spherical Bessel function may be expanded in powers of kr to recover the previous approximations.
Explicit multipoles: n = 0 and n = 1
For higher multipoles (n > 0), we require the vector potential in order to get both magnetic and electric
elds. We can then nd both elds using
H =
1

0
A
E =
iZ
k
H
Since there is no magnetic monopole eld, we may use the scalar potential to demonstrate the absence of
monopole radiation.
4
Monopole eld
The lowest order far eld is the electric monopole eld. For this it is easiest to use the solution for the scalar
potential, in terms of charge density,
(x, t) =
1
4
0

d
3
x

dt

(x

, t

)
|x x

_
t

t +
1
c
|x x

|
_
=
1
4
0
r

d
3
x

dt

(x

, t

)
_
t

t +
1
c
|x x

|
_
However, all charge is conned to a central region, and total charge is conserved. This means that the spatial
integral is independent of time,
q
tot
=

d
3
x

(x

, t

)
so
(x, t) =
q
tot
4
0
r
The electric eld is therefore a static Coulomb eld; there is no radiation.
Dipole eld
If the rst nonvanishing term in the multipole expansion,
A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

=

0
4
e
ikr
r

n=0
(ik)
n
n!

d
3
x

J(x

) ( n x

)
n
is the lowest (n = 0), then we have
A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

)
From the continuity equation,
0 =

t
+ J
= i (x) + J
and a cute trick. Since the current vanishes at innity, we may write a vanishing total divergence of x
j
J(x

):

d
3
x

_
x

j
J(x

)
_
=

d
2
x

n
_
x

j
J(x

)
_
= 0
Then
0 =

d
3
x

_
x

j
J(x

)
_
=

d
3
x

i
_
x

j
J
i
(x

)
_
=

d
3
x

i
x

j
J
i
(x

) + x

i
J
i
(x

)
_
5
=

d
3
x

ij
J
i
(x

) + x

i
J
i
(x

)
_
=

d
3
x

_
J
j
(x

) + x

J
_
and we have

d
3
x

J
j
(x

) =

d
3
x

J
= i

d
3
x

j
(x

)
This integral is the electric dipole moment,
p =

d
3
x

(x

)
and the vector potential is
A(x) =
i
0
4
e
ikr
r
p
The magnetic eld is the curl of this,
H(x) =
1

0
A
=
i
4

_
e
ikr
r
p
_
=
i
4
_

e
ikr
r
p
_
=
i
4

r
_
e
ikr
r
_
r p
=
i
4
_
ike
ikr
r

e
ikr
r
2
_
r p
=
k
4
_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
r p
=
k
2
c
4
_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
r p
and is therefore transverse to the radial direction. For the electric eld,
E =
iZ
k
H
=
iZkc
4

__
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
r p
_
Using
(a b) = a( b) b( a) + (b ) a (a ) b
this becomes
E =
iZkc
4
_
(p )
__
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
r
_
p
_

__
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
r
___
6
We easily compute the rst term in the brackets using the identity
(a ) (nf (r)) =
f (r)
r
[a (a n) n] + (a n) n
f
r
Thus, the rst term is
(p )
__
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
r
_
=
f (r)
r
[p (p r) r] + (p r) r
f
r
=
1
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
[p (p r) r] + (p r) r
_
1
ikr
2
e
ikr
r

_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
2
+
_
1
1
ikr
_
ike
ikr
r
_
=
e
ikr
r
__
1
r

1
ikr
2
_
[p (p r) r] + (p r) r
_
ik
2
r
+
2
ikr
2
__
For the second term, we use
(rf (r)) =
2
r
f +
f
r
so that

__
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
r
_
=
2
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
+

r
__
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
_
=
2
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
+
1
ikr
2
e
ikr
r

_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikr
r
2
+
_
1
1
ikr
_
ike
ikr
r
=
e
ikr
r
_
2
r

2
ikr
2
+
1
ikr
2

1
r
+
1
ikr
2
+ ik
1
r
_
=
ike
ikr
r
Combining these results, and using Zc =
_
0
0
_
1
00
=
1
0
,
E =
iZkc
4
_
e
ikr
r
__
1
r

1
ikr
2
_
[p (p r) r] + (p r) r
_
ik
2
r
+
2
ikr
2
__
p
_
ike
ikr
r
__
=
iZkc
4
e
ikr
r
__
1
r

1
ikr
2
_
[p (p r) r]
_
2
r

2
ikr
2
_
(p r) r ik (p (p r) r)
_
=
iZkc
4
e
ikr
r
__
ik +
1
r
_
1
1
ikr
__
(p (p r) r)
2
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
(p r) r
_
=
iZkc
4
e
ikr
r
_
ik (p (p r) r) +
1
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
(p (p r) r)
2
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
(p r) r
_
=
1
4
0
e
ikr
r
_
k
2
(p (p r) r) +
ik
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
(p 3 (p r) r)
_
Finally, noting that
r (p r) = p (p r) r
we see that this is equivalent to the expression in Jackson. Notice that the rst term is transverse, but not
the second.
The electric and magnetic elds for an oscillating dipole eld are therefore,
H(x, t) =
k
2
c
4
_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikrit
r
r p
E(x, t) =
1
4
0
e
ikrit
r
_
k
2
r (p r) +
ik
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
(p 3 (p r) r)
_
7
In the radiation zone, kr 1, these simplify to
H(x, t) =
k
2
c
4
e
ikrit
r
r p
E(x, t) =
k
2
4
0
e
ikrit
r
r (p r)
= Z
0
Hr
while in the near zone, kr 1,
H(x, t) =
ikc
4
1
r
2
e
ikrit
r p
=
ikrc
4
1
r
2
e
ikrit
r p
E(x, t) =
1
4
0
r
3
e
ikrit
(3 (p r) r p)
Notice that in the near zone, the electric eld is just e
it
times a static dipole eld, while
H =
kr
Z
1
4
0
p
r
3
E =
1
4
0
p
r
3
|3 ( p r) r p|
so that H E.
An aside: the trick, in general
Does the trick for expressing the moments of the current work for higher multipoles? Not quite! We show
here that two distinct distributions are required: the charge density and the magnetic moment density.
First, we know how to nd the zeroth moment of the current in terms of the rst moment of the charge
density,

d
3
x

J
j
(x

) = i

d
3
x

j
(x

)
Now, suppose we know the rst n 1 moments of a current distribution in terms of moments of the charge
density, and want to nd the n
th
,
j
k1...kn

d
3
x x
k1
. . . x
kn
J(x)
Then consider the (vanishing) integral of a total divergence,
0 =

d
3
x
_
x
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
J(x)
_
=

d
3
x
i
_
x
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
J
i
_
=

d
3
x
__

ik1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
+ x
k1

ik2
. . . x
kn+1
+ . . . + x
k1
x
k2
. . .
ikn+1
_
J
i
+ x
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1

i
J
i

d
3
x
__
J
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
+ x
k1
J
k2
. . . x
kn+1
+ . . . + x
k1
x
k2
. . . J
kn+1
_
+ ix
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1

d
3
x
__
J
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
+ x
k1
J
k2
. . . x
kn+1
+ . . . + x
k1
x
k2
. . . J
kn+1
_
+ ix
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1

8
Each of the rst n + 1 integrals,

d
3
x J
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
is a component of j
k1...kn
, since there are n factors of the coordinates, x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
. The problem is that
we have expressed the (n + 1)
st
moment of the charge density in terms of the symmetrized moments of the
current. We cannot solve for j
k1...kn
unless we also know the antisymmetric parts. Since the products of the
coordinates are necessarily symmetric (i.e., x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
is the same regardless of the order of the k
i
indices),
the only antisymmetric piece is

d
3
x (J
i
x
k
J
k
x
i
) x
k2
. . . x
kn
This does not vanish, but it can be expressed in terms of the magnetic moment density. Recall
M =
1
2
x J
M
i
=
1
2

j,k

ijk
x
j
J
k

i
M
i

imn
=
1
2

i,j,k

imn

ijk
x
j
J
k
=
1
2

j,k
(
mj

nk

mk

nj
) x
j
J
k
=
1
2
(x
m
J
n
x
n
J
m
)
x
m
J
n
= x
n
J
m
+ 2

i
M
i

imn
Consider the second term in our expression for the moments,

d
3
x
_
x
k1
J
k2
. . . x
kn+1
_
We can now turn it into the same form as the rst term,

d
3
x
_
x
k1
J
k2
. . . x
kn+1
_
=

d
3
x
__
x
k2
J
k1
+ 2

i
M
i

ik1k2
_
. . . x
kn+1
_
=

d
3
xJ
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
+ 2

d
3
xM
i

ik1k2
x
k3
. . . x
kn+1
The rst term on the right is now the same as the rst term in our expression. Repeating this for each of
the n + 1 terms involving J
k
gives
0 =

d
3
x(n + 1) J
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1
+ 2

d
3
xM
i

ik1k2
x
k3
. . . x
kn+1
+ . . . + 2

d
3
xM
i

ik1kn+1
x
k2
x
k3
. . . x
kn+1
+ i

d
3
xx
k1
x
k2
. . . x
kn+1

and therefore,
j
k2...kn+1
=
2
n + 1

d
3
x
_
M
i

ik1k2
x
k3
. . . x
kn+1
+ . . . +M
i

ik1kn+1
x
k2
x
k3
. . . x
kn+1

i
n + 1
p
k1...kn+1
j
k2...kn+1
=
2n!
n + 1

ik1(k2
m
ik3...kn+1)

i
n + 1
p
k1...kn+1
9
where
m
k1...kn
=

d
3
xMx
k1
. . . x
kn
are the higher magnetic moments. The parentheses notation means symmetrization. For example,
T
(ijk)

1
3!
(T
ijk
+ T
jki
+ T
kij
+ T
jik
+ T
kji
+ T
ikj
)
This shows that there are two types of moments that we will encounter: electric multipole moments built
from the charge density, and magnetic multipole moments built from the magnetic moment density. We see
this explicitly in the calculation of the electric quadrupole term of our general expansion.
Electric quadrupole and magnetic dipole radiation
Return to the exact expression for the vector potential, and expand to the next order:
A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) e
ik nx

1
1
r
n x

=

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) (1 ik n x

)
_
1 +
1
r
n x

_
=

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

) +

0
4
e
ikr
r

d
3
x

J(x

)
_
ik n x

+
1
r
n x

_
We know that the rst term on the right leads to electric dipole radiation. Suppose this term vanishes, so
that the radiation is described by the next order terms:
A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r
_
1
r
ik
_
d
3
x

J(x

) ( n x

)
Now we need the next higher moment of the current,

d
3
x

J(x

) ( n x

)
We have seen that we can express the n
th
moment of the charge distribution in terms of symmetrized
(n 1)
st
moments of the current. In order to get the symmetrized moments of J we may use a vector
identity. Starting with the magnetic moment density
M=
1
2
(x J)
we take a second curl
r M =
1
2
r (x

J)
=
1
2
(x

(r J) J(r x

))
so that
J(r x

) = x

(r J) 2r M
In components, this is

k
r
k
(J
i
x

k
) =

k
r
k
x

i
J
k
2

j,k

ijk
r
j
M
k
10
Therefore, the i
th
component of the current moment is
_
d
3
x

J(x

) ( n x

)
_
i
=

d
3
x

k
r
k
J
i
x

k
_
=

d
3
x

_
1
2

k
r
k
J
i
x

k
+
1
2

k
r
k
J
i
x

k
_
=

d
3
x

_
_
1
2

k
r
k
J
i
x

k
+
1
2
_
_

k
r
k
x

i
J
k
2

j,k

ijk
r
j
M
k
_
_
_
_
=

d
3
x

_
_

k
r
k
1
2
(J
i
x

k
+ x

i
J
k
)

j,k

ijk
r
j
M
k
_
_
=
i
2

k
r
k

d
3
x

(x

i
x

k
) +

d
3
x

j,k

ijk
r
k
M
j
=

k
r
k

d
3
x

_
_

ijk
M
j

i
2

d
3
x

(x

i
x

k
)
_
_
Notice that
f
i
=

k
r
k

d
3
x

_
r
2

ik
_
= r
i

d
3
x

r
2

has vanishing curl,

f = (r)

d
3
x

r
2

= 0
This means that this term may be added to the vector potential without aecting the elds (Jackson never
mentions this). This allows us to dene the quadrupole moment of the charge distribution as the traceless
matrix
Q
ik
=

d
3
x

_
3x

i
x

ik
r
2
_
(x

k
Q
kk
= 0
without changing the elds. Then, with the magnetic dipole moment equal to
m =

d
3
xM
and setting
[Q(r)]
i

k
r
k
Q
ik
the vector potential becomes
A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r
_
1
r
ik
_
d
3
x

J(x

) (r x

)
11
=

0
4
ike
ikr
r
_
1
1
ikr
__
r m+
i
6
Q(r)
_
=

0
4
ike
ikr
r
_
1
1
ikr
__
i
6
Q(r) + r m
_
For comparison, here is the divergence trick applied to the present case. Consider
0 =

d
3
x (x
j
x
k
J(x))
=

d
3
x
i
(x
j
x
k
J
i
(x))
=

d
3
x[(
ij
x
k
+
ik
x
j
) J
i
+ x
j
x
k

i
J
i
]
=

d
3
x[J
j
x
k
+ J
k
x
j
+ ix
j
x
k
]
=

d
3
x[2J
j
x
k
+ (J
k
x
j
J
j
x
k
) + ix
j
x
k
]
= 2

d
3
x J
j
x
k
+

d
3
x(J
k
x
j
J
j
x
k
) + i

d
3
x x
j
x
k
so that nally,

d
3
x J
j
x
k
=
1
2

d
3
x(J
k
x
j
J
j
x
k
)
i
2

d
3
x x
j
x
k
Now using the denition of the magnetic moment density,
M=
1
2
(x J)
and noting that
[r M]
i
=
1
2

jk

ijk
r
j
(x

J)
k
=
1
2

jkmn

ijk

kmn
r
j
x

m
J
n
=
1
2

jmn
(
im

jn

in

jm
) r
j
x

m
J
n
=
1
2

j
r
j
_
x

i
J
j
x

j
J
i
_
Returning to the expression for the vector potential
A(x) =

0
4
e
ikr
r
_
1
r
ik
_
d
3
x

J(x

) (r x

)
A
i
=

0
4
e
ikr
r
_
1
r
ik
_

k
r
k

d
3
x

J
i
x

k
=

0
4
e
ikr
r
_
1
r
ik
_

k
r
k
_

1
2

d
3
x

(J
k
x

i
J
i
x

k
)
i
2

d
3
x

i
x

k
_
=

0
4
e
ikr
r
_
1
r
ik
_
_

d
3
x

([r M]
i
)
i
2

k
r
k

d
3
x

i
x

k
_
12
A(x) =

0
4
ike
ikr
r
_
1
1
ikr
__
i
6
Q(r) + r m
_
so the result is just as above.
The elds are now found in the usual way. The magnetic dipole potential is
A(x) =

0
4
ike
ikr
r
r m
Notice that the magnetic eld for the electric dipole had exactly this form,
i
0
kc
H
e
(x, t) =

0
4
ike
ikrit
r
r p
once we replace p m. Since the electric eld in that case was given by E
e
(x, t) =
iZ0
k
H
e
, we can
write the curl of A immediately. We have
H
m
(x, t) =
1

0
A
m
(x)
=
1

_
i
0
kc
H
e
(x, t)

pm
_
=
i
kc
k
iZ
0
E
e
(x, t)|
pm
=
1
cZ
1
4
0
e
ikrit
r
_
k
2
r (mr) +
ik
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
(m3 (m r) r)
_
=
1
4
e
ikrit
r
_
k
2
r (mr) +
ik
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
(m3 (m r) r)
_
We can resort to this sort of magic again, because we know that this form of E
e
(x, t) was achieved by taking
the curl of H
e
, and the Maxwell equations for harmonic sources tell us that
iB
m
= E
m
i
_
i
0
kc
H
e
(x, t)

pm
_
= E
m

0
H
e
(x, t)|
pm
= E
m
Notice that dropping the curl on both sides is not quite allowed, since the right and left sides could dier by
a gradient, but the answer here is correct. The electric eld for magnetic dipole radiation is correctly given
by
E
m
=
0
H
e
(x, t)|
pm
=
0
_
k
2
c
4
_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikrit
r
r p
_

pm
=
Z
0
4
k
2
_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikrit
r
r m
This gives the magnetic dipole elds as
H =
1
4
e
ikrit
r
_
k
2
r (mr) +
ik
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
(m3 (m r) r)
_
E =
Z
0
4
k
2
_
1
1
ikr
_
e
ikrit
r
r m
13
in complete analogy to the electric dipole eld, but with magnetic and electric parts interchanged. In the
radiation zone, these become
H =
1
4
k
2
e
ikrit
r
[r (mr)]
E =
Z
0
4
k
2
e
ikrit
r
r m
For the quadrupole elds, we begin with the quadrupole piece of the vector potential
A(x) =
i
0
24
ike
ikr
r
_
1
1
ikr
_
Q(r)
where writing
[Q(r)]
i

k
r
k
Q
ik
allows us to write the potential in vector form. The magnetic eld is then
H(x, t) =
1

0
A(x)
Keeping only terms of order
1
r
, this gives
H(x, t) =
1

_
i
0
24
ike
ikr
r
Q(r)
_
=
1

0
_
ik
2

0
24
e
ikr
r
r Q(r)
_
=
ick
3
24
e
ikr
r
r Q(r)
since the only derivative term that does not increase the power of
1
r
is
_
i0
24
ik
r
_
e
ikr
_
Q(r)

. The electric
eld is then
E = Z
0
Hr
= Z
0
_
ick
3
24
e
ikr
r
r Q(r)
_
r
=
ik
3
24
0
e
ikr
r
[r Q(r)] r
Radiated power
The energy per unit area carried by an electromagnetic wave is given by the Poynting vector,
S = EH
For a plane wave, we have
E = E
0
cos (k x t)
H =
1

1
k
k E
0
cos (k x t)
14
So
S = EH
= E
0
cos (k x t)
_
1

1
k
k E
0
cos (k x t)
_
=
_

1
k
E
0
(k E
0
) cos
2
(k x t)
=
_

1
k
E
2
0
kcos
2
(k x t)
with real part
S =
_

1
k
E
2
0
kcos
2
(k x t)
with time average
S =
_
1
2
_

E
2
0
_

k
For a complex representation of the wave,
E = E
0
e
i(kxt)
H =
1

1
k
k E
0
e
i(kxt)
we may write the same quantity as
1
2
Re (EH

) =
1
2
Re
_
E
0
e
i(kxt)

k E

0
e
i(kxt)
_
=
1
2
_

|E
0
|
2

k
so the time-averaged energy ow per unit area per unit time is
S =
1
2
Re (EH

)
Now consider the average power carried o by electric dipole, electric quadrupole, and magnetic dipole
radiation.
Electric dipole
The radiation zone elds were found above to be
H(x, t) =
k
2
c
4
e
ikrit
r
r p
E(x, t) =
k
2
4
0
e
ikrit
r
r (p r)
so that
dP
dA
= r S
=
1
2
Re (r (EH

))
15
=
1
2
Re
_
k
2
4
0
1
r
r
_
[r (p r)]
k
2
c
4
1
r
[r p]
__
=
ck
4
32
2

0
1
r
2
|p|
2
sin
2

=
c
2
k
4

0
32
2

0
1
r
2
|p|
2
sin
2

=
c
2
Z
0
32
2
1
r
2
k
4
|p|
2
sin
2

This is the power per unit area. Since the area element at large distances is dA = r
2
d, where is the solid
angle, we may write the dierential power radiated per unit solid angle using
dP
dA
=
1
r
2
dP
d
so that
dP
d
=
c
2
Z
0
32
2
k
4
|p|
2
sin
2

Magnetic dipole
The radiation zone elds for magnetic dipole radiation are
H(x, t) =
k
2
4
e
ikrit
r
r (mr)
E(x, t) =
Z
0
k
2
4
e
ikrit
r
r m
so the result is the same as for the electric dipole with the substitution p m/c,
dP
d
=
Z
0
32
2
k
4
|m|
2
sin
2

Electric quadrupole moment

For electric quadrupole radiation the elds are given by
H(x, t) =
ick
3
24
e
ikr
r
r Q(r)
E(x, t) =
ik
3
24
0
e
ikr
r
[r Q(r)] r
giving an average power per unit solid angle of
dP
d
=
r
2
2
|Re (EH

)|
=
r
2
2

Re
__

ik
3
24
0
e
ikr
r
[r Q(r)] r
_

_
ick
3
24
e
ikr
r
r Q(r)
__

=
1
2
k
3
24
0
ck
3
24
|([r Q(r)] r) (r Q(r))|
=
ck
6
1152
2

0
|([r Q(r)] r) (r Q(r))|
=
Z
0
c
2
1152
2
k
6
|[r Q(r)] r|
2
Notice that the power radiated by the quadrupole moment depends on k
6
, whereas the power radiated
by the dipole moments both go as k
4
. This pattern continues for higher moments.
16