On the Cherenkov radiation from extended charge distributions

Abstract

In this work the Cherenkov effect for extended charge distributions is analyzed using two different methods. In the first method, the Poynting vector is employed to determine the energy radiated, whereas in the second one, we apply the idea of generating time-dependent elemental dipoles, induced by a charge distribution moving with constant velocity, inside a material medium. An explicit expression for the Cherenkov radiation generated by some different kinds of spherically symmetric charge, travelling inside a medium, is obtained.PACS Nos.: 03.50.De, 41.20.Bt, 41.60.-m, 41.60.Bq