Derivatives of the Dirac delta function by explicit construction

of sequences
Timothy B. Boykina)
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville,
Alabama 35899
Received 5 June 2002; accepted 10 January 2003
Explicit sequences that approach the Dirac delta function and its derivatives are often helpful in
presenting generalized functions. We present a method by which a finite difference formula may be
easily converted into a sequence that approaches a derivative of the Dirac delta function in one
dimension. In three dimensions, we employ a sequence for the Dirac delta function based on a
uniformly charged sphere of infinitesimal radius and infinite charge density and show that the charge
density of an electric dipole is in the sense of a generalized function equal to ( / z) 3 (r). We
use this result to derive Gauss law in a dielectric medium directly from the charge densities, without
using the potentials. 2003 American Association of Physics Teachers.
DOI: 10.1119/1.1557302

I. INTRODUCTION much value. Finally, explicit sequences can be of much help

The Dirac delta function is of central importance in many
branches of physics, engineering, and mathematics, making a
thorough understanding of it and its generalizations essential.
The Dirac delta function is typically introduced through the
sifting property
in dealing with the three-dimensional Dirac delta function
and its partial derivatives, both in terms of developing physi-
cal insight and avoiding errors that can arise when the formal
approach is applied to partial derivatives.37
The only real difficulty with an approach built upon ex-
plicit sequences is finding the sequences themselves, most

x f x dx f 0 , 1
where f (x) is a test function. This introduction is typically
accompanied by a few examples of sequences of functions
that approach (x). The derivatives of (x) are most often
introduced using partial integration, although graphs of se-
quences for d (x)/dx are occasionally given.1 Beyond the
traditional example or two of sequences for (x), most of
the discussion in standard physics and engineering texts is in
terms of formal manipulations.
The formal approach is mathematically well-founded and
can be presented in a very elegant manner. In our experience,
though, it has pedagogical limitations. First, a very formal
approach is difficult for many students to master, so that they
tend to merely memorize the rules of the Dirac delta function
without ever really understanding it. That is, they are often
unable to recognize a sequence of functions that approach
(x) when they encounter one in physical problems. Their
difficulty with respect to the derivatives of the Dirac delta
function is even worse. The presentation of the three-
dimensional Dirac delta function is typically even more for-
mal, generally involving the divergence theorem; its partial
derivatives are hardly ever discussed.2
Although a mastery of the formalism is important, we
have found that many students need to have a mental image
of a generalized function in order to fully understand how it
operates. Introducing generalized functions by the somewhat
less elegant means of explicit sequences that approach the
Dirac delta function or its derivatives addresses this need by
providing graphical representations and makes the formalism
much easier for many students. Furthermore, because gener-
alized functions most often appear in physical theory as lim-
its of sequences of functions for example, the charge density
of either a point charge or point dipole in electrostatics, a
presentation that is strongly rooted in explicit sequences is of
especially for the derivatives of the Dirac delta function. On
first inspection it might seem that only sequences that are
continuous functions of x could be candidates for represent-
ing (x) and its derivatives because it is desirable to obtain
the sequence for d (x)/dx by differentiating the sequence
for (x). The problem posed by such continuous functions
for example, Gaussian or Lorentzian functions is that the
sifting integrals are usually improper and demonstrations of
the sifting property for higher derivatives become increas-
ingly cumbersome if integration by parts is not employed.
Discontinuous sequences, on the other hand, involve finite-
domain integrals, but cannot be differentiated with respect to
x and so would seem unsuitable candidates. As we shall
show, the demand of differentiability with respect to x is far
too stringent a requirement. Common finite difference ex-
pressions are perfectly satisfactory, in even a rigorous sense.
Furthermore, the use of finite difference expressions empha-
sizes that generalized functions have meaning only in terms
of their integral properties.
The paper is organized as follows: In Sec. II we show
how finite difference expressions can be employed to quickly
and rigorously construct explicit representations for the
derivatives of the one-dimensional Dirac delta function. In
Sec. III we discuss explicit sequences for the three-
dimensional Dirac delta function and its partial derivatives,
emphasizing their physical applications. In Sec. IV we give
our conclusions.
II. DERIVATIVES OF x
The fact that (x) is not an ordinary function suggests that
a systematic and rigorous procedure for generating se-
quences for d n (x)/dx n ought to be based upon an expres-
sion for the nth derivative of a test function. Here we present
a procedure that employs a finite difference approximation
for the nth derivative of a test function together with the

462 Am. J. Phys. 71 5, May 2003 http://ojps.aip.org/ajp/ 2003 American Association of Physics Teachers 462
sifting property, Eq. 1. To keep the development as simple
as possible, we restrict our attention to an (n1)-point for-
mula for the nth derivative. Such a finite difference approxi-
d n xx 0
dx n
1 n lim
0
h0
1
h
n n

j0

j x 0 j hx .

mation for the nth derivative of a test function f evaluated at 9

x 0 can be represented as
We substitute yx 0 x and use d m (u)/du m xx 0

dn f
dx n

1
h
n n
j f x 0 jh , 2 (1) m d m (u)/du m y to obtain

x0 j0
n n
d n y 1
where j and j are suitably chosen constants and Eq. 2 lim j y j h . 10
dy n 0 h j0
becomes exact in the limit h0. Because f is sampled at h0
discrete points, we can use Eq. 1 to rewrite Eq. 2 for the
nth derivative as Equation 10 is exactly what we would obtain by making

the substitution f (x) (x) in Eq. 2 and holds rigorously

dn f
dx n x0
lim
h0
1
h
n n

j0
j

x x 0
To obtain a sequence of functions for d n (x)/dx n , we re-
place each Dirac delta function in Eq. 3 with a sequence
that approaches (x). When constructing a sequence for de-
j h f x dx . in the sense of a generalized function, which is the only
sense that we can require it to hold. Thus we see that a finite
3 difference expression that becomes exact in the limit h0
can be used to generate a sequence of discontinuous func-
tions that approach d n (x)/dx n in the appropriate limits. In
practice, it is more convenient to set h for some con-
stant and thereby have one limit.

rivatives based on step functions, it is most convenient to use As a first example of the method, we consider the gener-
alized function d /dx. The starting point is the familiar cen-
1 tral difference formula for the first derivative,
, x ,
2 2
x 4 d f x f xh f xh
. 11
0, x , dx 2h
2

which approaches (x) as 0. If we substitute Eq. 4 into A comparison with the general form of Eq. 2 shows that
Eq. 3, we obtain 0 1 1/2 and 0 1 1. If we use these constants
in Eq. 10, we find

dn f
dx n x0
d ,h xh xh
. 12

dx 2h

n n
1
lim j x x 0 j h f x dx If we take each Dirac delta function in Eq. 12 to represent
0 h j0
h0 a one-dimensional point charge density, the right-hand side
5 of Eq. 12 is the charge distribution of a dipole pointing in
the x direction up to appropriate constants. As an ex-

lim
0
h0

f x
1
h
n n

j0

j x x 0 j h dx .
ample, we generate a sequence by choosing two overlapping
functions with , h/4 in Eqs. 2 and 12. The
explicit representation is see Fig. 1

6
1, /4x3/4
The derivatives of (x) are defined formally by repeated
integration by parts, giving1
d
dx
2
2
1, 3/4x/4
x 3/4, x /4.
13

0,
dn f
dx n x0
1 n

d n xx 0
dx n
f x dx. 7
Because this representation is based on a finite difference
formula that becomes exact as h0, we are guaranteed that
Hence, we conclude that it obeys the relevant sifting equation, Eq. 7. That is, the

initial finite difference formula removes all lower-order de-
n n
d n xx 0 1 rivatives and higher-order derivatives have coefficients of at
1 n lim j x x 0 j h , least order h and hence approach zero. It is, however, a
dx n h
0
h0
j0
simple matter to demonstrate it explicitly by using Eq. 13
8 in the sifting integral. First, observe that because f is a test
function, both it and all of its derivatives are well-behaved
where, as always with generalized functions, the limits are to everywhere. Second, observe that the finite extent of Eq. 13
be taken after integrating. guarantees a finite domain of integration concentrated about
We can recast Eq. 8 into the form of Eq. 2 by observing the origin. Thus we may expand f in a Taylor series about 0
that (x) is even: in the sifting integral:

463 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 5, May 2003 Timothy B. Boykin 463
 Fig. 2. An explicit sequence for d 3 (x)/dx 3 based on the finite difference
Fig. 1. An explicit sequence for d (x)/dx based on the finite difference formula Eq. 17 with /4 and h/8.
formula Eq. 11 with and h/4.

/2x/4

1,

lim
0

d x
dx
f x dx d 3 x

4
4
3,
3,
/4x0
0x/4 18
dx 3

lim
0
3/4 d

3/4 dx
x
f 0 x
df

x2 d2 f
dx 0 2! dx 2 0
1,
0,
/4x/2
x /2.

In the Appendix we explicitly verify the sifting integral for
x3 d3 f this sequence.
dx. 14
3! dx 3 0 Noncentral difference formulas may also be used with Eq.
10. For example, another first-derivative finite difference
Because Eq. 13 is odd and the domain of integration is approximation,
symmetrical, integrals of even powers of x vanish, while for d f x 1
the odd powers we have f x f xh , 19
dx h

3/4 d
x
x 2m1 dx
2
2m
13 2 m1
, with h/2, leads to

3/4 dx m1 4 16
d x 2
15 /2 x /2 x/2
m0,1,2,... . dx
From Eq. 15 we see that for m1, the integral is of order
2 or higher and thus vanishes in the limit. For m0, the
integral is 1 so that

2
2

1,
1,
0,
/4x/4
/4x3/4
x/4, x3/4.
20

lim d x
f x dx
df
, 16
Again, the correct sifting behavior is again easily verified:

0 dx dx 0 d x
lim f x dx
as required. 0 dx

Higher-order formulas are handled similarly. For example, 3/4 d
x
consider a sequence for d 3 (x)/dx 3 based on the familiar lim
third-derivative formula derived from Pascals triangle that 0 /4 dx

is, the binomial coefficients,
df x2 d2 f

f 0 x dx, 21
d f x
3
1 3
dx 0 2! dx 2 0
3 f x3h 3 f xh
dx 2h
because integrals of x 2 and higher powers are at least order
3 f xh f x3h . 17 3 / 2 and thus vanish in the limit, while

By using Eq. 10 with /4, h/8 see Fig. 2, we ob-

tain
3/4 d

/4
x
dx
dx 2

2
3

2 4
0,
4 22

464 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 5, May 2003 Timothy B. Boykin 464
 3/4 d

/4 dx
x
x dx
2

2
2 1

2 16 16
9
1, 23
behavior of the first term of Edip at the origin. Subtleties such
as this, which arise in the formal approach, are entirely elimi-
nated by the sequence-based approach discussed here.

lim
0


d x
dx
f x dx
df
dx 0
,
We can more rigorously deduce that Eq. 27 is indeed the
correct charge density for the ideal dipole by constructing a
sequence for the dipole potential and showing that this po-
24 tential satisfies the Poisson equation for the charge density in
just as required by Eq. 7. Eq. 27. In seeking a sequence for the potential of an ideal
dipole that avoids singularities at the origin, it is best to start
with an appropriate sequence for a point charge that is, the
III. THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL DIRAC DELTA three-dimensional Dirac delta function that itself avoids sin-
FUNCTION gularities in r. Although many representations are possible, a
sphere of radius and uniform volume charge density
As mentioned, the formal approach to generalized func- 3Q/(4 3 ) is the simplest that meets the criterion, leading
tions in three dimensions requires great care, especially when to:

finding the field of an ideal electric dipole.37 In particular,
the potential and field of an ideal point dipole of moment p 0, r
in the z direction located at the origin are5 3 r 3 28
, r.
p cos 43
V dip r , 25
40 r2 The dimensionless potential for this sequence, G pt
(r) pt
1 p point charge, must satisfy the dimensionless Poisson
Edip r 2 cos er sin e equation:
40 r3
r r .
lim 2 G pt 29
3
p 0
e 3 r , 26
3 0 z An explicit sequence for a well-behaved potential satisfying

where we have used spherical coordinates. The Dirac delta Eq. 29 is
function in Eq. 26 is lost when Eq. 25 is differentiated 1
naively.3,4,6,7 Griffiths5 and Jackson8 have shown that this , r
term must be present by considering the average electric field 4r
r

over a spherical volume. G pt 30
1 r2
Evidently the ideal electric dipole is not nearly as simple 3 2 , r.
as it at first seems, given both the appearance of the Dirac 8
delta function in Eq. 26 and the fact that its presence is The sifting property of Eq. 30 follows immediately:

deduced via integral properties. Further applications of gen-
eralized functions can be seen in the traditional derivation of lim 2 G pt
r f r d r
3
Gauss law in a dielectric medium,8 where the "P bound 0 all space

dipole term appears only as the result of an integration by
parts. In other words, a derivative has been transferred from 3 2
lim f 0 r f 0
a Dirac delta function to the test function P. The charge
0 43 0 0 0
density of an ideal dipole two infinite magnitude, opposite
polarity point charges separated by an infinitesimal distance r 2 dr sin d d . 31
is certainly not zero. Mathematically, it is clear from Eq. 26
that 2 V dip"Edip dip / 0 must be proportional to Symmetry considerations aside, we see that all derivative
terms vanish as 0 because (n1),
3 (r)/ z. This proportionality follows on physical grounds
as well as can be seen by constructing the dipole charge
density directly. We place point charges q where q) 0

2 G pt
r r r dr
n 2
3
43
0

r n2 dr
symmetrically about the origin on the z axis a distance
apart, where 0 such that the dipole moment pq re- 3
mains finite. Then qp/ and the dipole charge density is n, 32
4 3n

dip r lim
p
3 r


e 3 r ez leaving only the term containing f (0):

0 2 z 2
lim 2 G pt
r f r d r
3
3 r 0 all space
p . 27

z
3 43
Note that this construction is nothing more than the three- lim f 0 f 0 , 33
0 43 3
dimensional extension to the first partial derivative here
with respect to z of the procedure in Eq. 10. Observe as thus verifying Eq. 29.
well that had we naively calculated "Edip from Eq. 26, we We now apply Eq. 30 to construct a sequence for the
would have found an erroneous factor of 1/3 multiplying potential of an ideal dipole and show that the resulting po-
3 (r)/ z, because the naive calculation misses the singular tential has the charge density of Eq. 27. Because a point

465 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 5, May 2003 Timothy B. Boykin 465
 where us ls stands for the upper lower sliver. For the
upper sliver the integral to first order in is

us
2 G dip, r f r d 3 r

3
43

2

0 0
/2 cos /2

cos /2
f 0 r f 0

r 2 dr sin d d , 38
where as usual we expand f to first order only, because
higher-order terms will vanish in the limits 0, 0. By
using the relations xr sin()cos(), yr sin()sin(), we
see that only the first term and the f / z part of the gradient
term will survive leading to:

Fig. 3. Schematic of an ideal electric dipole; for clarity the y z plane

us
2 G dip, r f r d 3 r
3
4
f 0
1 f
2 z 0
cross-section is shown. The positive sphere has a solid black outline; the as 0, 0. 39
negative sphere a gray outline. The spheres are centered at z
/2 and each is of radius . See Eqs. 35 and 36 for the definition of The lower sliver yields a similar result:
the radii r .

ls
2 G dip, r f r d 3 r

dipole consists of two point charges of infinite charge sepa-
3 2 cos /2
rated by an infinitesimal distance, we place the dimension-
less charges of magnitude 1/ at z /2 see Fig. 3, 43 0 /2 cos /2

G dip r lim G dip, r t f 0 r f 0 r 2 dr sin d d , 40

0
3 1 f

lim
0

1

G pt


r ez G pt
2 r


e
2 z ls
2 G dip, r f r d 3 r
4
f 0
2 z

as 0, 0.
0

41
0

, 34 Therefore, we have the expected sifting property:

where the restriction ensures that the dipole collapses
to a point. To establish the sifting property of 2 G dip(r), we
first note from Eq. 30 that 2 G dip(r)0 in the regions
all space
2 G dip r f r d 3 r
f
z 0
2 G dip r

outside both spheres and inside both spheres. The only con- 3
tributions to the sifting integral therefore come from the r , 42
z
slivers that are inside one sphere but outside the other. To
deal with these, observe that the surface of the sphere is from which we conclude that the dimensionless charge
defined by density of an ideal dipole is 3 (r)/ z.

r
2 2
e ,
2 z
35
Next we show that this representation of an ideal electric
dipole gives the correct field. In all cases we drop terms of
order and higher, because these terms vanish as 0.

r

2
cos
2

2

2
2
sin2
cos ,
Outside both spheres, we have from Eqs. 30 and 34,
1
36 G dip r 2 cos er sin e , 43
4r3
where we keep terms only to first order in . Thus, for a test which is nothing more than the familiar electric dipole field.
function f, Inside both spheres, Eqs. 30 and 34 yield:

all space
2 G dip, r f r d 3 r
us
2 G dip, r f r d 3 r
G dip, r
1 z
4 3
, 44

ls
2 G dip, r f r d 3 r,
G dip, r
1
4
1 3
3 ez G dip r r ez ,
3
37 45

466 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 5, May 2003 Timothy B. Boykin 466
where the last equality follows from Eqs. 28 to 30. Ob- 1 1
serve that Eq. 45 is up to the expected constants the last "E
0 i q i 3 rri 0 i pi " 3 rr . i
51
term of Eq. 26. We see that the explicit sequence indeed
transparently includes the Dirac delta function term in the As usual, we treat the dielectric medium as quasicontinu-
field expression. In the upper and lower slivers we have ous that is, continuous on a macroscopic scale and convert

the sums to integrals. The charges then become q i
1 1
G dip, r 2 cos er sin e free(r )d 3 r , and the dipole moments become pi
us
2 4r3 P(r )d 3 r , where P(r ) is the vector polarization per

1
4 3 ez
1
1
4 r
r
2 3 er , unit volume. If we make these substitutions into Eq. 51, we
find:

46a "E
1
0
free r
3
rr d 3 r

G dip, r ls
1 1
2 4r3
2 cos er sin e

1

0
P r " 3 rr d 3 r . 52

1
e
43 z
1 1

r

e .
4 r2 3 r Now we use the fact that 3 (rr ) 3 (r r) recall
that 3 (r) (x) (y) (z)] and apply the sifting property for
46b 3 (r) in the first term to obtain
In Eq. 46 the first term is simply the average of the interior
and exterior fields. The last term similarly poses no difficul-
"E
1
0
free r
1
0
P r " 3 r r d 3 r . 53
ties. In the slivers we have rr, r . We may
If we expand the dot product in the second term and apply
therefore approximate the last term as
the sifting property for the derivatives of the three-
1 1
4 r
r
2 3

3r
43
K 3 r as 0, 0.
dimensional Dirac delta function to each term, for example,

P z r
3
d 3 r
Pz
, 54
47 z z r
r r
In the limit 0, 0 exact overlap of infinitesimal we obtain from Eq. 53:

spheres, these Dirac delta functions cancel. Alternatively, it
is easy to see that this term has no effect when Eqs. 46 are
treated as generalized functions with . Thus by using an
appropriate explicit sequence to represent an ideal dipole, we
recover both the expected sifting property and the Dirac delta
function term in the field.
Finally, we employ our results to derive Gauss law in a
dielectric medium directly from the charge densities, without
employing potentials. Gauss law states that
1
"E tot r . 48
0 We have shown how sequences of discontinuous functions
In a dielectric medium the total charge has two components,
the free charge, and the bound dipole charge. If we have
free point charges q i located at positions ri , then the free
charge density is simply
free r i q i 3 rri . 49
We next find the contribution of the bound dipoles in the
medium to the total charge.
We have shown that the charge density of moment p with
orientation along the z axis located at the origin is
p 3 (r)/ z; for an arbitrary orientation the result general-
izes to p" 3 (r). Hence, the charge density due to ideal
dipoles with moments pi located at positions ri is
dip r i pi " 3 rr .
i
50
With the charge densities in Eqs. 49 and 50, Gauss law
now reads
1 1 Px Py Pz
"E free r
0 0 x r y r z r
1 1
r "P r , 55
0 free 0
which is exactly Gauss law in a dielectric medium.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
approaching the one- and three-dimensional Dirac delta
functions can be employed to construct explicit sequences
for their derivatives. In one dimension we have shown how
to convert a finite difference formula into such an explicit
sequence. In three dimensions we have shown how repre-
senting an ideal point charge as a uniformly charged sphere
of infinitesimal radius and infinite charge density results in a
sequence for the Dirac delta function free of singularities at
the origin. We used this sequence to find a sequence for the
derivative of the Dirac delta function and showed the latter
to be proportional to the charge distribution of an ideal point
dipole. We employed this result to present a derivation of
Gauss law in a dielectric medium, beginning directly from
the charge densities; unlike other derivations ours yields the
"P term, that is, the bound charge, directly. These explicit
sequences should be useful in increasing the comprehension
of generalized functions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank Professor Ngendra Singh and Dennis Hite for in-
teresting discussions and comments.

467 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 5, May 2003 Timothy B. Boykin 467
APPENDIX: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Because the domain of integration is symmetrical and Eq.
18 is odd, integrals of even powers of x vanish, while for
Problem 1: The sequence in Eq. 20 for d /dx as 0 is the odd powers we have:
based on a noncentral difference formula. Equation 20 is
not obviously odd or even, yet because (x) (x), it
follows that d /dx must be an odd function. Show that the
sequence for d /dx given in Eq. 20 is indeed an odd func-
tion and explain how this can be so.
Solution: From Eq. 20, we have
/2 d 3

/2 dx
x
3 x 2m1 dx
1
m1 4 2m2
42 2 m1 ,

m0,1,2,... . A6
/4x/4

1,
d u 2 2
1, 3/4x/4 A1
du x

0, x3/4, x/4. From Eq. A6 we see that for m2, the integral is of order
We carry out a Taylor expansion of f about x0 as in Eq. 2 or higher, and thus vanishes in the limit. For m0, the
21 and note as before that we need only consider integrals integral vanishes as well because the term in square brackets
of the constant and linear in x terms in the expansion. The is identically zero. For m1, the integral is 63!, so
two integrals are that

u

3
/4 2
d 2
dx 0, A2
3/4 du 4 4 2

/4 d u
du
xdx
2

2
1
2
9 2 2

16 16
1. A3
lim
0

d 3 x
dx 3 f x dx
d3 f
dx 3 0
, A7
3/4 x

Thus we find that

lim
0


d u
du x
f x dx
df
dx 0
. A4
as required.
a
Electronic mail: boykin@ece.uah.edu
If we compare Eqs. A4 and 24, we see that d /dx is an
1
M. J. Lighthill, An Introduction to Fourier Analysis and Generalised
odd function, in spite of Eqs. 20 and A1. The answer to Functions Cambridge U.P., New York, 1958, Secs. 1.5, 2.2, 2.3.
2
For a formal presentation of the three-dimensional Dirac delta function
this paradox is that generalized functions only have meaning
using the divergence theorem, see, for example, David J. Griffiths, Intro-
in terms of their integral properties; this property applies to duction to Electrodynamics PrenticeHall, Upper Saddle River, NJ,
their parity as well. As Eqs. A4 and 24 show, the integral 1999, 3rd ed., Sec. 1.5; and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Bernard Diu, and
properties of d /dx confirm that it is an odd function. Franck Laloe, Quantum Mechanics Wiley, New York, 1977, Appendix II.
Problem 2. Explicitly establish the sifting relation for the The latter also briefly discuss the electric dipole charge density in a man-
sequence in Eq. 18. ner similar to our introduction of it in Eq. 27, but do not discuss an
Solution. Because the domain of integration is finite, we explicit sequence for it.
3
expand the test function, f, to find Charles P. Frahm, Some novel delta function identities, Am. J. Phys. 51,
826 829 1983.
lim
0

d 3 x
dx 3
f x dx
4

5
Ricardo Estrada and Ram P. Kanwal, The appearance of nonclassical
terms in the analysis of point source fields, Am. J. Phys. 63, 278 1995.
David J. Griffiths, Hyperfine splitting in the ground state of hydrogen,

lim
0
/2 d 3

/2 dx
x
3
6
Am. J. Phys. 50, 698 703 1982.
J. M. Aguirregabiria, A. Hernandez, and M. Rivas, -function converging
sequences, Am. J. Phys. 70, 180185 2002.

7
Ray Skinner and John A. Weil, An introduction to generalized functions
df x2 d2 f x3 d3 f and their application to static and electromagnetic point dipoles, including
f 0 x 2 dx. hyperfine interactions, Am. J. Phys. 57, 777791 1989.
dx 0 2! dx 0 3! dx 3 0 8
J. D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics Wiley, New York, 1975, 2nd
A5 ed., pp. 139145.

468 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 71, No. 5, May 2003 Timothy B. Boykin 468