Are Advanced Potentials Anomalous?

Abstract

Advanced electromagnetic potentials are indigenous to the classical Maxwell theory. Generally however they are deemed undesirable and are forcibly excluded, destroying the theory's inherent time-symmetry. We investigate the reason for this, pointing out that it is not necessary and in some cases is counter-productive. We then focus on the direct-action theory in which the advanced and retarded contributions are present symmetrically, with no opportunity to supplement the particular integral solution of the wave equation with an arbitrary complementary function. One then requires a plausible explanation for the observed broken symmetry that, commonly, is understood cannot be met by the Wheeler-Feynman mechanism because the necessary boundary condition cannot be satisfied in acceptable cosmologies. We take this opportunity to argue that the boundary condition is already met by all expanding cosmologies simply as a result of cosmological red-shift. A consequence is that the cosmological and thermodynamic arrows of time can be equated, the direct action version of EM is preferred, and that advanced potentials are ubiquitous.