Covariant Electrodynamics

A notoriously difficult subject, covariant electrodynamics is nonetheless vital for understanding relativistic field theory. John M. Charap’s classroom-tested introduction to the mathematical foundations of the topic presents the material in an approachable manner. Charap begins with a historical overview of electrodynamics and a discussion of the preliminary mathematics one needs in order to grasp the advanced and abstract concepts underlying the theory. He walks the reader through Maxwell’s four equations, explaining how they were developed and demonstrating how they are applied. From there, Charap moves through the other components of electrodynamics, such as Lorentz transformations, tensors, and charged particle behavior. At each point, he carefully works through the mathematics, applies the concepts to simple physical systems, and provides historical context that makes clear the connections among the theories and the mathematicians responsible for developing them. A concluding chapter reviews the history of electrodynamics and points the way for independent testing of the theory. Thorough, evenly paced, and intuitive, this friendly introduction to high-level covariant electrodynamics is a handy and helpful addition to any physicist’s toolkit.

A notoriously difficult Subject, covariant electrodynamics is nonetheless vital for understanding relativistic field theory. John M. Charap's classroom-tested introduction to the mathematical foundations of the topic presents the material in an approachable manner. Charap begins with a historical overview of electrodynamics and a discussion of the preliminary mathematics one needs in order to grasp the advanced and abstract concepts underlying the theory. He walks the reader through Maxwell's four equations, explaining how they were developed and demonstrating how they are applied. From there, Charap moves through the other components of electrodynamics, such as Lorentz transformations, tensors, and charged particle behavior. At each point, he carefully works through the mathematics, applies the concepts to simple physical systems, and provides historical context that makes clear the connections among the theories and the mathematicians responsible for developing them. A concluding chapter reviews the history of electrodynamics and points the way for independent testing of the theory. Thorough, evenly paced, and intuitive, this friendly introduction to high-level covariant electrodynamics is a handy and helpful addition to any physicist's toolkit.

A textbook for 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate students using the fundamental principle of covariance as a basis for studying classical mechanics, electrodynamics, the special theory of relativity, and the general theory of relativity, before moving on to more advanced topics of field theory, differential forms, and modified theories of gravity.

An engaging writing style and a strong focus on the physics make this graduate-level textbook a must-have for electromagnetism students.

Tremendous technological developments and rapid progress in theory have opened a new area of modern physics called high-field electrodynamics: the systematic study of the interaction of relativistic electrons or positrons with ultrahigh-intensity, coherent electromagnetic radiation. This advanced undergraduate/graduate-level text provides a

This textbook is a revised and enlarged version of notes for a one-semester course on electromagnetism. It covers the theory of electromagnetic phenomena in vacuum and in material media. The book includes a CD-ROM with didactic software, to solve boundary value problems in electrostatics and magnetostatics.

It is well known that classical electrodynamics is riddled with internal inconsistencies springing from the fact that it is a linear, Abelian theory in which the potentials are unphysical. This volume offers a self-consistent hypothesis which removes some of these problems, as well as builds a framework on which linear and nonlinear optics are treated as a non-Abelian gauge field theory based on the emergence of the fundamental magnetizing field of radiation, the B(3) field. Contents: Interaction of Electromagnetic Radiation with One Fermion; The Field Equations of Classical O (3) b Electrodynamics; Origin of Electrodynamics in the General Theory of Gauge Fields; Nonlinear Propagation in O (3) b Electrodynamics: Solitons and Instantons; Physical Phase Effects in O (3) b Electrodynamics; Quantum Electrodynamics and the B (3) Field; Quantum Chaos, Topological Indices and Gauge Theories; Field Theory of O (3) b QED and Unification with Weak and Nuclear Interactions; Potential Applications of O (3) b QED; Duality and Fundamental Problems. Readership: Graduate and undergraduates in physics (electromagnetism), differential geometry & topology, electrical & electronic engineering, theoretical & physical chemistry, chaos and dynamical systems.