Electron as a solution to Maxwell's Eqns

[msumm21]

If an electron (and positron) can be created from a high energy photon (pair production), I was wondering if there are any (maybe old) papers in which people explored the possibility of an electron just being a solution to Maxwell's equations, just another EM-field perhaps like a photon but traveling in circles which somehow results in having properties like mass, spin, ...

 

[Thoros]

The photon is the quanta of the EM-field just as the electron is a quanta in the electron-field. These fields are fundamentally different and require distinct approaches. I think though that if you are really interested in exploring the possibility that you pointed out, i would search for papers regarding the electron's mass as being purely electromagnetic. This is the closest thing i can think of right now.

Try this wikipedia article to get you started http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_mass

 

[mfb]

All solutions to the Maxwell equations in vacuum can be written in terms of electromagnetic waves ("light"), there are no solutions left to describe a massive particle.

 

[msumm21]

Thanks Thoros, that link pointed me to some work related to one of the things I was wondering about.

Also fyi for others reading this, I found the link below possibly related to some other aspects of my question:
http://phys.org/news/2012-04-physicists-maxwells-equations-self-bending.html

 

[naima]

I was wondering if there are any (maybe old) papers in which people explored the possibility of an electron ... traveling in circles which somehow results in having properties like mass, spin, ...

Please read this old Hestenes paper
The electrons travel here around circles at the speed of light.
This is of course a non orthodox theory: Electrons obey a modified Dirac equation.
You can also read what Penrose wrote on the massless zigzag electrons.

 

[The_Duck]

A related idea is the geon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geon_(physics )