The illusion of acceleration in the retarded Lienard-Wiechert electromagnetic field

Abstract

It is generally assumed that the retarded Lienard-Wiechert electromagnetic field produced by a point particle depends on the acceleration of that source particle. This dependence is not real, it is an illusion. The true electromagnetic interaction is time symmetric (half retarded and half advanced) and depends only on the positions and velocities of the electrically charged particles. A different acceleration of the retarded source particle will result in a different position and velocity of the advanced source particle, changing in this way the Lorentz force felt by the test particle.