Maxwell action ($S_E=\frac{1}{4}\int F_{\mu \nu }{F}_{\mu \nu }{d}^{4}x$)

The source-free Maxwell Lagrangian gives $S=-\frac{1}{4}\int F_{\mu \nu }{F}^{\mu \nu }{d}^{4}x$ in mostly-minus Lorentzian signature. Its Euclidean action is the displayed positive quadratic functional of the electromagnetic field tensor. Variation, with boundary terms vanishing, yields ${\partial }_{\mu }{F}_{\mu \nu }=0$.

Vary the antisymmetric auxiliary electromagnetic field tensor and the electromagnetic four-potential independently. The first variation sets $F_{ab}={\nabla }_a{A}_b-{\nabla }_b{A}_a$ algebraically, and variation of the potential gives ${\nabla }_b{F}^{ab}=0$. Substitution of the algebraic equation reduces the first-order action to the usual negative quadratic Maxwell action. Metric variation gives the same stress tensor after eliminating the auxiliary field, because the chain-rule term multiplying its variational equation then vanishes.