Continuity equations for bound electromagnetic field and the electromagnetic energy-momentum tensor

Abstract

We analyze the application of the Poynting theorem to the bound (velocity-dependent) electromagnetic (EM) field and show that an often-used arbitrary elimination of the term of self-interaction in the product j.E (where j is the current density and E the electric field) represents, in general, an illegitimate operation, which leads to incorrect physical consequences. We propose correct ways of eliminating the terms of self-interaction from the Poynting theorem to transform it into the form that is convenient for problems with bound EM field, which yield the continuity equations for the proper EM energy density, the interaction part of EM energy density and the total EM energy density of bound fields, respectively. These equations indicate the incompleteness of the common EM energy-momentum tensor, and in our analysis, we find a missed term in its structure, which makes its trace non-vanished. Some implications of these results are discussed, in particular, in view of the notion of EM mass of charged particles.