Classical electrodynamics in quasi-metric space-time (Q2457711)

The so-called quasi-metric framework (QMF) as a geometric basis for relativistic gravity was introduced as a possible alternative to the usual metric framework. In QMF, there exist two fundamentally different scales in the universe, one gravitational and one atomic. QMF predicts that, expressed in atomic units, there should exist systematic scale changes between gravitational and non-gravitational systems. The aim of the paper is to formulate classical electrodynamics coupled to gravity in a way consistent with the QMF. The quasi-metric manifold is equipped with two one-parameter families of metric tensors, each parameterized by the global time function \(t\). Moreover, two different electromagnetic field tensors are defined, the active field tensor and the passive field tensor, respectively. The active electromagnetic field tensor couples to gravity. By construction, the norm of the passive electromagnetic field tensor decreases secularly, determining a global cosmic attenuation (not noticeable locally) of the electromagnetic field. The question is, how the general features of QMF dictate the behaviour of classical electrodynamics in quasi-metric space-time. It is shown that it is possible to derive the usual Maxwell equations in electrovacuum for the passive electromagnetic field in curved space-time from local conservation laws. This motivates the general definition of Maxwell's equations within the QMF. Using these definitions, the relationship between the passive and active electromagnetic field tensors yields an initial value formulation of electrodynamics coupled to gravity. As an example the exact solutions for the gravitational and electric fields are found in electrovacuum outside a spherically symmetric, metrically static charged source. This example shows, that the effect of the cosmic expansion on the electric field is fundamentally different from its effect on the gravitational field. Also calculated is the path of a charged test particle moving in the electric field of an isolated spherical charge with negligible gravity. This calculation shows that the cosmic expansion affects the electromagnetically bound system even more than a similar, but gravitationally bound system. Finally, it is shown how the main results of geometric optics can be derived from Maxwell's equations in quasi-metric space-time, i.e., it is shown that light rays move along null geodesics from Maxwell's equations in curved space-time.