The differential geometry behind Maxwell’s equations

Abstract

[en] Modern physics relies heavily on differential geometry in order to establish the mathematical formulation of its conceptual framework. This tendency started with Maxwell’s equations in the XIX century and has since then only intensified. This work aims at establishing a more geometric approach to Maxwell’s equations using differential forms in order to generalize them to other manifolds than \mathbb {R}^3, an imperative for any physical theory ever since Einstein laid the foundations of Special and General Relativity. We will therefore show a modern approach to physics delving into differential geometry to define the objects that we will deal with in Maxwell’s equations which will give us deeper insight about the mathematical structure of these equations and their physical consequence.