Date: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026
Time: 11:40 am
Place: Aula 1.A1 (Faculty of Science & Technology, Leioa, UPV/EHU)
Speaker: Prof. Sergei M. Kuzenko (University of Western Australia, Perth)
Abstract:
One of the first models of nonlinear electrodynamics was introduced by Born and Infeld in 1934 with the aim of solving the problem of infinite self-energy of a charged particle in Maxwell’s theory. Like Maxwell’s electrodynamics, Born-Infeld theory possesses an invariance under rotations of the electric and magnetic fields into each other. This property is known as electric-magnetic duality, or self-duality. In 1931, it inspired Paul Dirac to conjecture the existence of magnetically charged particles (monopoles). Since the mid 1990s, there has been renewed interest in nonlinear electrodynamics theories, especially those possessing electric-magnetic duality. This talk will review the history of self-dual nonlinear electrodynamics, its theoretical foundations, fundamental properties, and possible physical implications.