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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Symmetries and Covariance of the Maxwell Equations

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Already within a given, fixed division of four-dimensional spacetime into the space where experiments are performed, and the laboratory time variable, Maxwell’s equations show interesting transformation properties under continuous and discrete space-time transformations. However, only the action of the whole Lorentz group on them reveals their full symmetry structure. A good example that illustrates the covariance of Maxwell’s equations is provided by the electromagnetic fields of a point charge uniformly moving along a straight line.