Dispersion relation

For electromagnetic waves in vacuum, the angular frequency is proportional to the wavenumber:

${\displaystyle \omega =ck.\,}$

This is a linear dispersion relation. In this case, the phase velocity and the group velocity are the same:

${\displaystyle v={\frac {\omega }{k}}={\frac {d\omega }{dk}}=c;}$

they are given by c, the speed of light in vacuum, a frequency-independent constant.

The free-space dispersion plot of kinetic energy versus momentum, for many objects of everyday life

Total energy, momentum, and mass of particles are connected through the relativistic dispersion relation:[1]

${\displaystyle E^{2}=(mc^{2})^{2}+(pc)^{2},}$

which in the ultrarelativistic limit is

${\displaystyle E=pc}$

and in the nonrelativistic limit is

${\displaystyle E=mc^{2}+{\frac {p^{2}}{2m}},}$

where ${\displaystyle m}$ is the invariant mass. In the nonrelativistic limit, ${\displaystyle mc^{2}}$ is a constant, and ${\displaystyle p^{2}/(2m)}$ is the familiar kinetic energy expressed in terms of the momentum ${\displaystyle p=mv}$.

The transition from ultrarelativistic to nonrelativistic behaviour shows up as a slope change from p to p² as shown in the log–log dispersion plot of E vs. p.

Elementary particles, atomic nuclei, atoms, and even molecules behave in some contexts as matter waves. According to the de Broglie relations, their kinetic energy E can be expressed as a frequency ω, and their momentum p as a wavenumber k, using the reduced Planck constant ħ:

${\displaystyle E=\hbar \omega ,\quad p=\hbar k.}$

Accordingly, angular frequency and wavenumber are connected through a dispersion relation, which in the nonrelativistic limit reads

${\displaystyle \omega ={\frac {\hbar k^{2}}{2m}}.}$

Animation: phase and group velocity of electrons

This animation portrays the de Broglie phase and group velocities (in slow motion) of three free electrons traveling over a field 0.4 ångströms in width. The momentum per unit mass (proper velocity) of the middle electron is lightspeed, so that its group velocity is 0.707 c. The top electron has twice the momentum, while the bottom electron has half. Note that as the momentum increases, the phase velocity decreases down to c, whereas the group velocity increases up to c, until the wave packet and its phase maxima move together near the speed of light, whereas the wavelength continues to decrease without bound. Both transverse and longitudinal coherence widths (packet sizes) of such high energy electrons in the lab may be orders of magnitude larger than the ones shown here.

The name "dispersion relation" originally comes from optics. It is possible to make the effective speed of light dependent on wavelength by making light pass through a material which has a non-constant index of refraction, or by using light in a non-uniform medium such as a waveguide. In this case, the waveform will spread over time, such that a narrow pulse will become an extended pulse, i.e., be dispersed. In these materials, ${\displaystyle {\frac {\partial \omega }{\partial k}}}$ is known as the group velocity[2] and corresponds to the speed at which the peak of the pulse propagates, a value different from the phase velocity.[3]

Frequency dispersion of surface gravity waves on deep water. The ■ red square moves with the phase velocity, and the ● green dots propagate with the group velocity. In this deep-water case, the phase velocity is twice the group velocity. The ■ red square traverses the figure in the time it takes the ● green dot to traverse half.

The dispersion relation for deep water waves is often written as

${\displaystyle \omega ={\sqrt {gk}},}$

where g is the acceleration due to gravity. Deep water, in this respect, is commonly denoted as the case where the water depth is larger than half the wavelength.[4] In this case the phase velocity is

${\displaystyle v_{p}={\frac {\omega }{k}}={\sqrt {\frac {g}{k}}},}$

and the group velocity is

${\displaystyle v_{g}={\frac {d\omega }{dk}}={\frac {1}{2}}v_{p}.}$

Two-frequency beats of a non-dispersive transverse wave. Since the wave is non-dispersive, ● phase and ● group velocities are equal.

For an ideal string, the dispersion relation can be written as

${\displaystyle \omega =k{\sqrt {\frac {T}{\mu }}},}$

where T is the tension force in the string, and μ is the string's mass per unit length. As for the case of electromagnetic waves in vacuum, ideal strings are thus a non-dispersive medium, i.e. the phase and group velocities are equal and independent (to first order) of vibration frequency.

For a nonideal string, where stiffness is taken into account, the dispersion relation is written as

${\displaystyle \omega ^{2}={\frac {T}{\mu }}k^{2}+\alpha k^{4},}$

where ${\displaystyle \alpha }$ is a constant that depends on the string.

In the study of solids, the study of the dispersion relation of electrons is of paramount importance. The periodicity of crystals means that many levels of energy are possible for a given momentum and that some energies might not be available at any momentum. The collection of all possible energies and momenta is known as the band structure of a material. Properties of the band structure define whether the material is an insulator, semiconductor or conductor.

Phonons are to sound waves in a solid what photons are to light: they are the quanta that carry it. The dispersion relation of phonons is also non-trivial and important, being directly related to the acoustic and thermal properties of a material. For most systems, the phonons can be categorized into two main types: those whose bands become zero at the center of the Brillouin zone are called acoustic phonons, since they correspond to classical sound in the limit of long wavelengths. The others are optical phonons, since they can be excited by electromagnetic radiation.

With high-energy (e.g., 200 keV, 32 fJ) electrons in a transmission electron microscope, the energy dependence of higher-order Laue zone (HOLZ) lines in convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED) patterns allows one, in effect, to directly image cross-sections of a crystal's three-dimensional dispersion surface.[5] This dynamical effect has found application in the precise measurement of lattice parameters, beam energy, and more recently for the electronics industry: lattice strain.