GEOMETRICAL PROPERTIES OF ELECTROMAGNETIC TIDAL FORCES

Abstract

In general, elementary particles as well as extensive bodies have internal degrees of freedom that naturally turn their trajectories into accelerated curves. Hence, we propose to describe the kinematical properties of nongeodesic congruences and study how tidal forces are modified. Once the general scenario is well established, we analyze in details tidal effects due to electromagnetic fields, i.e. the relative acceleration between test charged particles. An algebraic analysis of these fields is developed together with a geometrical interpretation in terms of local field lines. In this framework, we compare general relativity and electrodynamics in terms of operationally equivalent objects.