For a constant electromagnetic field tensor, the relativistic Lorentz force is a constant-coefficient linear system on four-velocity, with solution
The electric-type blocks of generate hyperbolic rotations, while magnetic-type blocks generate ordinary rotations.
Dust stress-energy tensor Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-07
A pressureless fluid with proper number density , rest mass and four-velocity has tensor . In its local rest frame there is energy density but no spatial stress. Particle-number conservation and the Lorentz force make its divergence the electromagnetic force density.
Lorentz force Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For four-momentum and four-velocity , the covariant Lorentz-force law is
Its spatial and temporal components are
Lorentz four-force 2026-10-06
The covariant force on a charged particle is its charge times the electromagnetic field-strength tensor contracted with its four-velocity. Antisymmetry keeps the four-force orthogonal to that velocity and preserves the rest mass.
A static observer has four-velocity . Its only nonzero acceleration component is . Using , the magnitude is
It vanishes only at , where and . Thus is proper time for the central inertial static observer. Other static observers need inward acceleration to resist de Sitter separation and have a redshifted proper time.