Complex structures in electrodynamics

Abstract: In this paper we show that the basic external (i.e. not determined by the equations) object in Classical electrodynamics equations is a complex structure. In the 3-dimensional standard form of Maxwell equations this complex structure

m a t h c a l I

participates implicitly in the equations and its presence is responsible for the so called duality invariance. We give a new form of the equations showing explicitly the participation of

m a t h c a l I

. In the 4-dimensional formulation the complex structure is extracted directly from the equations, it appears as a linear map

P h i

in the space of 2-forms on

m a t h b b R^{4}

. It is shown also that

P h i

may appear through the equivariance properties of the new formulation of the theory. Further we show how this complex structure

P h i

combines with the Poincare isomorphism

m a t h f r a k P

between the 2-forms and 2-tensors to generate all well known and used in the theory (pseudo)metric constructions on

m a t h b b R^{4}

, and to define the conformal symmetry properties. The equations of Extended Electrodynamics (EED) do not also need these pseudometrics as beforehand necessary structures. A new formulation of the EED equations in terms of a generalized Lie derivative is given.

Review text

Considered are the Maxwell equations in vacuum for illustrating the relevance of a progressive level of abstraction in the characterization of the interplay between equations and solutions, so that eventually to one physical object corresponds one mathematical model object. In particular, starting from the linear Maxwell equations and the remarkable duality symmetry of their solutions (which in the simplest form is expressible by the invariance with respect to the substitutions \(E\to -B\) and \(B\to E\)), one casts the equations in a general covariant form involving the metric tensor and one then gets a coordinate free formulation in terms of external differential forms, on \(\mathbb{R}^2\) for the 3-dimensional formulation and on \(\mathbb{R}^4\) for the 4-dimensional one, respectively. The duality mentioned above then appears to be based on a linear transformations \(\phi\) on the corresponding form spaces which has the property \(\phi\circ\phi=-\text{identity}\), called accordingly a complex structure. The authors are then able to show that starting from the complex structures involved by the duality symmetry which leave the energy-momentum of the fields invariant, one can derive the relativistic pseudo-Euclidean metric structures of the Maxwell equations and their conformal symmetries.

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