Cyclotron resonance

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Cyclotron resonance describes the interaction of external forces with charged particles experiencing a magnetic field, thus already moving on a circular path. It is named after the cyclotron, a cyclic particle accelerator using this resonance to add kinetic energy to charged particles.

The cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicular to the direction of a uniform magnetic field B (constant magnitude and direction). Since that motion is always circular,[1] the cyclotron frequency is given by equality of centripetal force and magnetic Lorentz force

{\frac {mv^{2}}{r}}=qBv

with the particle mass m, its charge q, velocity v, and the circular path radius r, also called gyroradius.

By substitution for the circulation frequency f={\frac {v}{2\pi r}} which defines the cyclotron frequency, this leads to

f={\frac {qB}{2\pi m}}.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Physics by M. Alonso & E. Finn, Addison Wesley 1996.
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