Electrodynamics in curved space-time: Free-space longitudinal wave propagation

Jimenez and Maroto [Phys. Rev. D 83, 023514 (2011)] predicted free-space, longitudinal electrodynamic waves in curved space-time, if the Lorenz condition is relaxed. A general-relativistic extension of Woodside's electrodynamics [Am. J. Phys. 77, 438 (2009)] includes a dynamical, scalar field in both the potential- and electric/magnetic-field formulations without mixing the two. We formulate a longitudinal-wave theory, eliminating curvature polarization, magnetization density, and scalar field in favor of the electric/magnetic fields and the metric tensor. We obtain a wave equation for the longitudinal electric field for a spatially flat, expanding universe with a scale factor. This work is important, because: (i) the scalar- and longitudinal-fields do not cancel, as in classical quantum electrodynamics; and (ii) this new approach provides a first-principles path to an extended quantum theory that includes acceleration and gravity. (C) 2019 Physics Essays Publication.