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FIZIKA A 12 (2003) 2 , 55 - 74
 
MASSLESS CLASSICAL ELECTRODYNAMICS
MICHAEL IBISON
Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin, Austin, TX 78759, USA
Received 28 September 2002; revised manuscript
received 28 October 2003;
Accepted 8 December 2003 Online 19 April 2004
In the direct-action form of classical electromagnetism we give the equation of motion
for a classical massless bare charge without self-interaction in the presence of an
external field. That equation permits superluminal speeds and time-reversals, and so is a
realization of the Stueckelberg-Feynman view of electrons and positrons as different
segments of a single trajectory. We give a particular solution to a one body problem, and
briefly discuss some aspects of the two-body problem. There is some discussion of the
historical context of this effort, including the direct action and absorber theories, and
some speculation on how the massless bare charge may acquire mass, and how these findings
impact the problem of singular self-action.
PACS numbers: 03.20.+i, 03.50.-z, 03.50.De, 03.65.Bz, 14.60.Cd
UDC 537.11 <\p>
Keywords: massless classical electrodynamics, superluminal, time-reversals,
Wheeler-Feynman, direct-action, action at distance
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