The classical equations of motion of quantized gauge theories, Part 2: Electromagnetism

In this and companion papers, we show that quantum field theories with gauge symmetries permit a broader class of classical dynamics than typically assumed. In this article, we show that the quantization of electromagnetism permits the existence of classical electric field states that do not obey Gauss’s law. These states are gauge invariant and their time evolution can be consistently described using the Schrödinger equation. The time evolution of these states is such that at the classical level, the full set of Maxwell’s equations would appear to hold, with the physical effects of these states being attributable to an auxiliary, static “shadow” charge density with no internal degrees of freedom. This density could affect the dynamics of charged particles in our universe and it may thus be of observational interest.