Self-Interacting Electromagnetic Fields and a Classical Discussion on the Stability of the Electric Charge

Abstract

The present work proposes a discussion on the self-energy of charged particles in the framework of nonlinear electrodynamics. We seek magnetically stable solutions generated by purely electric charges whose electric and magnetic fields are computed as solutions to the Born-Infeld equations. The approach yields rich internal structures that can be described in terms of the physical fields with explicit analytic solutions. This suggests that the anomalous field probably originates from a magnetic excitation in the vacuum due to the presence of the very intense electric field. In addition, the magnetic contribution has been found to exert a negative pressure on the charge. This, in turn, balances the electric repulsion, in such a way that the self-interaction of the field appears as a simple and natural classical mechanism that is able to account for the stability of the electron charge.