When Fields Are Not Degrees of Freedom

Hartenstein, Vera and Hubert, Mario (2021): When Fields Are Not Degrees of Freedom. In: British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 72, No. 1: pp. 245-275

Abstract

We show that in the Maxwell-Lorentz theory of classical electrodynamics most initial values for fields and particles lead to an ill-defined dynamics, as they exhibit singularities or discontinuities along light-cones. This phenomenon suggests that the Maxwell equations and the Lorentz force law ought rather to be read as a system of delay differential equations, that is, differential equations that relate a function and its derivatives at different times. This mathematical reformulation, however, leads to physical and philosophical consequences for the ontological status of the electromagnetic field. In particular, fields cannot be taken as independent degrees of freedom, which suggests that one should not add them to the ontology.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics > Mathematics
• Subjects: 500 Science > 510 Mathematics
• ISSN: 0007-0882
• Language: English