When a charged particle (of mass m and charge e) interacts with a linearly polarized plane wave with electric field Ex = E0 cos(kz − ωt), the particle’s motion consists of a transverse oscillation. Hence, the particle has transverse momentum, while the wave carries only longitudinal momentum. How is Newton’s 3rd law satisfied in this situation? Hint: Consider the interaction field momentum. Thi...

We study the properties of pulsed solutions to the scalar and vector wave equations composed of plane-waves with equal longitudinal spatial frequency. This condition guarantees that, at all times, the field profile is invariant in the longitudinal direction. Particular emphasis is placed on solutions with rotational symmetry. For these solutions, the wave concentrates strongly near the axis at ...

By means of a 3D numerical code we investigate the response of magnetic flux tubes to transverse perturbations. Various tubes with plasma β ranging from 0.1 to 10 embedded in a uniform nonmagnetic atmosphere are considered. High spatial resolution was obtained by the application of a multiple nested grid strategy. Various kinds of internal longitudinal and transverse body waves as well as surfa...