Sources, potentials and fields in Lorenz and Coulomb gauge: cancellation of instantaneous interactions for moving point charges

DOI10.1016/J.AOP.2011.12.007zbMATH Open1241.78006arXiv1110.6210OpenAlexW1988669520MaRDI QIDQ413170FDOQ413170

Authors: B. J. Wundt, Ulrich D. Jentschura 

Publication date: 4 May 2012

Published in: Annals of Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We investigate the coupling of the electromagnetic sources (charge and current densities) to the scalar and vector potentials in classical electrodynamics, using Green function techniques. As is well known, the scalar potential shows an action-at-a-distance behavior in Coulomb gauge. The conundrum generated by the instantaneous interaction has intrigued physicists for a long time. Starting from the differential equations that couple the sources to the potentials, we here show in a concise derivation, using the retarded Green function, how the instantaneous interaction cancels in the calculation of the electric field. The time derivative of a specific additional term in the vector potential, present only in Coulomb gauge, yields a supplementary contribution to the electric field which cancels the gradient of the instantaneous Coulomb gauge scalar potential, as required by gauge invariance. This completely eliminates the contribution of the instantaneous interaction from the electric field. It turns out that a careful formulation of the retarded Green function, inspired by field theory, is required in order to correctly treat boundary terms in partial integrations. Finally, compact integral representations are derived for the Lienard-Wiechert potentials (scalar and vector) in Coulomb gauge which manifestly contain two compensating action-at-a-distance terms.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1110.6210

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zbMATH Keywords

classical electrodynamicsgauge invariance

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Electromagnetic theory (general) (78A25) Motion of charged particles (78A35)

Cites Work

• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Significance of Electromagnetic Potentials in the Quantum Theory
• Solutions of the Maxwell equations and photon wave functions
• Historical roots of gauge invariance
• Potentials of a uniformly moving point charge in the Coulomb gauge

Cited In (12)

• Classical electromagnetism as a consequence of Coulomb's law, special relativity and Hamilton's principle and its relationship to quantum electrodynamics
• Potentials of a uniformly moving point charge in the Coulomb gauge
• The Coulomb static gauge
• The vector potential of a moving charge in the Coulomb gauge
• Coulomb potential from Lorentz invariance in \(N\) dimensions
• On the Singularity of the Static Green's Function and the Derivations of Equations Associated With Potentials
• On the use of projection operators in electrodynamics
• A short proof that the Coulomb-gauge potentials yield the retarded fields
• On vector potential of the Coulomb gauge
• Selecting the electromagnetic gauge as an integration condition
• On non-equivalence of Lorentz and Coulomb gauges within classical electrodynamics
• Electromagnetic field generated by a moving point charge: a fields-only approach

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