Electromagnetic potential continuity equation

Chris Clark
Spicy Lifestyle Academy, Department of Physics, Tokyo, Japan (Dated: October 3, 2010) A derivation of Maxwells equations in potential form from Maxwells equations in dierential form. At the end, a continuity equation for the electromagnetic potentials is identied and discussed.
PACS numbers: 03.65.Ta

ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS IN TERMS OF POTENTIALS

MAXWELLS EQUATIONS IN POTENTIAL FORM

Starting from Maxwells equations in dierential form, E =

0

E = B = 0

B t
0

Maxwell s equations in potential form are obtained by eliminating E and B from the remaining two Maxwell equations using the substitutions derived in the previous section. Gausss Law (1st equation) becomes A t =
0

B = 0 J + 0

E t 2 +

Maxwells equations in potential form can be derived using Helmholtzs theorem. According to Helmholtzs Theorem, any vector eld B satisfying B = 0 can be written as B=A for some vector eld A. Based on Gausss Law for magnetism (3rd equation), this theorem applies to the magnetic eld. Plugging this into Faradays law (2nd equation) gives E= ( A) = t A t =0 A t

( A) = t 0

Amperes Law (4th equation) becomes ( A) = 0 J + 0

0

A t

Using the relation 0 0 = 1/c2 and the vector identity ( A) = ( A) 2 A, ( A) 2 A = 0 J 1 c2 t 1 2A c2 t2

E+

2 A

1 2A 1 A+ 2 c2 t2 c t

= 0 J

Again by Helmholtzs Theorem, any vector eld F satisfying F = 0 can be written as F = for some scalar eld . Based on the last result, we can write A = E+ t A t Therefore, the electromagnetic elds expressed in terms of potentials are E = B=A E = A t

So Maxwells equations in potential form can be written in the following form 2 + ( A) = t 0

2 A

1 2A 1 A+ 2 2 2 c t c t
GAUGE FIXING

= 0 J

Both of the equations derived in the previous section contain the expression A. The value of this expression does not aect the electric or magnetic elds, so we can choose a value arbitrarily. The value of A is known as the gauge, and the act of choosing the value is known as

2 gauge xing. There is a particular choice of gauge that makes the two equations maximally symmetric: A= 1 c2 t It is not surprising that obeys a continuity equation. A corollary of the Helmholtz Decomposition Theorem says that all physically realistic scalar elds obey a continuity equation. Basically, the theorem states that for any reasonable scalar eld S and vector eld C there exists a vector eld F such that F = S and F = C. So if we choose S = t , the theorem implies the existence of a vector eld F satisfying F = t . Dening A = F/c2 gives us a familiar continuity equation: the Lorentz gauge condition. The interesting point is that the two potentials appear in a single continuity equation.

which is known as the Lorentz gauge. Using this gauge condition, Maxwells equations in potential form can be written as 2 1 2 = c2 t2 0 1 2A = 0 J c2 t2

2 A

INTERPRETATION

The choice of gauge is often thought to be physically meaningless due to the fact that it does not aect the observables E and B. Philosophically though, it is possible that the universe operates based on rules that assume a particular gauge. If so, then we could say philosophically that this gauge is the correct gauge choice, even though it may be impossible to tell which one it is. But even if there is no direct experimental test, there may be theoretical evidence that points toward a particular gauge over all the others. Perhaps one such piece of evidence is the observation that the Lorentz gauge equation is a continuity equation, tting the general form = j t

Continuity equations contain two variables: a density and a ux. Typically, the density corresponds to some physical quantity and the ux corresponds to the ow of that physical quantity e.g. charge and current. And in such cases, there is only one underlaying scalar eld. For example, consider the continuity equation for probability in quantum mechanics, which only depends on the underlying wave function eld; the probability ux density j is just a formula referring to . This suggests that the electromagnetic potentials may likewise derive from a single scalar eld.

URL: http://www.dfcd.net