Coleman Lecture: Varying E-M Lagrangian - Problem 3.1 Explained

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on Problem 3.1 from the Coleman Lectures on Relativity, specifically the derivation of the free Maxwell equations using integration by parts. The key equation presented is $$\delta I = + \int \mathrm{d}^4 x \delta A_{\nu} \partial_{\mu} F^{\mu \nu}$$ which leads to the conclusion that $$\partial_{\mu} F^{\mu \nu}=0$$. The simplification of the Lagrangian variation is achieved through the expression $$\delta \mathcal{L}=-\frac{1}{4} \delta (F_{\mu \nu} F^{\mu \nu})$$, demonstrating the relationship between the variation of the Lagrangian and the equations of motion for the electromagnetic field.

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  • Understanding of Lagrangian mechanics
  • Familiarity with electromagnetic field tensors, specifically $$F_{\mu \nu}$$
  • Knowledge of integration techniques, particularly integration by parts
  • Basic principles of variational calculus
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Pnin
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This is from Coleman Lectures on Relativity, p.63. I understand that he uses integration by parts, but just can't see how he gets to the second equation. (In problem 3.1 he suggest to take a particular entry in 3.1 to make that more obvious, but that does not help me.)
 
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You can simplify the task a bit by writing
$$\delta \mathcal{L}=-\frac{1}{4} \delta (F_{\mu \nu} F^{\mu \nu}) = -\frac{1}{2} \delta F_{\mu \nu} F^{\mu \nu}=-\delta (\partial_{\mu} A_{\nu}) F^{\mu \nu}.$$
Then you have, indeed via partial integration)
$$\delta I = -\int \mathrm{d}^4 x \partial_{\mu} \delta A_{\nu} F^{\mu \nu} = + \int \mathrm{d}^4 x \delta A_{\nu} \partial_{\mu} F^{\mu \nu} \stackrel{!}{=}0,$$
and from this you get the free Maxwell equations
$$\partial_{\mu} F^{\mu \nu}=0, \quad F_{\mu \nu}=\partial_{\mu} A_{\nu} -\partial_{\nu} A_{\mu}$$
for the potential.
 
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