Momentum–energy of the non-radiating electromagnetic field: open problems?

Abstract

This paper inspects more closely the problem of the momentum and energy of a bound (non-radiative) electromagnetic (EM) field. It has been shown that for an isolating system of non-radiative non-relativistic mechanically free charged particles, a transformation of mechanical to EM momentum and vice versa occurs in accordance with the requirement =const, where is the canonical momentum (N>1 is the number of particles, q is the charge, is the vector potential, is the mechanical momentum of the system). Then represents the self-force, acting on this isolating system due to violation of Newton's third law in EM interaction. This equation is not applicable to an isolated charged particle, and the problems of its self-action and its own EM momentum have been examined. Analysing the systems of non-radiative particles, where the retardation is not negligible (‘dynamical’ systems in our definition) it has been found that the total momentum is the same at the initial and final stationary states of such systems, but it varies with time during the dynamical processes. It means a violation of continuous conservation of the total momentum, if the bound EM field spreads at the light velocity c. Finally, the compatibility of the energy conservation law and the Lentz rule for retarded non-radiative EM field has been examined. It has been shown that for dynamical systems the energy conservation law comes into a certain contradiction with the finite (light) spread velocity for the bound EM field.