Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-physics-i-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/1/a/solution
Past exam of the theoretical physics I course of the University of Cambridge 2019 1 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Use Minkowski metric and units with the speed of light equal to one. Thus , and is the spatial projector of a timelike congruence. Keep the medium velocity fixed when varying the electromagnetic four-potential. Since the electromagnetic field tensor is , its variation givesBoth tensors are antisymmetric. Integration by parts, with variations vanishing at the boundary, therefore givesThe Euler-Lagrange field equation is . Renaming the free index and using antisymmetry givesThese are the inhomogeneous Maxwell equations with the bound charge and bound current encoded by the polarization-magnetization tensor.
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