Abstract
If the photon were to have a rest mass near the best present upper limit,m≲3×10−53 g, Maxwell's equations would be inapplicable over distances exceeding about 1015 cm, with profound implications for cosmic electrodynamics. This paper deals with electrodynamic and gravitational effects of the non-Maxwellian stresses which would be associated with large-scale magnetic fields in quasi-static plasmas in these circumstances. The existence of moderately dense interstellar gas clouds with relatively strong magnetization shows thatm≲10−58 g. General relativity must be used to calculate even the ‘Newtonian’ gravitational effects of electromagnetic fields, and it is shown here that the Newtonian potential caused by the non-Maxwellian stresses just cancels that caused by the non-Maxwellian energy density. Previous arguments based on the latter alone are therefore invalid.
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Murphy, G.L., Burman, R.R. Electrodynamic and gravitational effects of proca stresses in astrophysics. Astrophys Space Sci 56, 363–370 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01879566
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01879566