Self-Force of a Dirac String: An Explicit Calculation

Fuente: arXiv
Salvato in:
Dettagli Bibliografici
Autore principale: Rojo, Alberto G.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
Soggetti:
Accesso online:
Tags: Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
_version_ 1866910053815025664
author Rojo, Alberto G.
author_facet Rojo, Alberto G.
contents A Dirac string can be modeled as a semi-infinite solenoid carrying a fixed magnetic flux. Dirac pointed out that such a string should experience a nonvanishing and divergent self-force, but explicit calculations are rarely shown. Motivated by a recent comment by McDonald, we present a direct and elementary derivation of this self-force. Treating the string as a stack of current loops, we compute the axial force produced by the radial magnetic field generated by the rest of the solenoid. The resulting force, $F=Φ^2/(2πμ_0 a^2)$, diverges as the solenoid radius $a\to0$ with flux $Φ$ fixed, making explicit the singular nature of the Dirac string.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_14429
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Self-Force of a Dirac String: An Explicit Calculation
Rojo, Alberto G.
Classical Physics
A Dirac string can be modeled as a semi-infinite solenoid carrying a fixed magnetic flux. Dirac pointed out that such a string should experience a nonvanishing and divergent self-force, but explicit calculations are rarely shown. Motivated by a recent comment by McDonald, we present a direct and elementary derivation of this self-force. Treating the string as a stack of current loops, we compute the axial force produced by the radial magnetic field generated by the rest of the solenoid. The resulting force, $F=Φ^2/(2πμ_0 a^2)$, diverges as the solenoid radius $a\to0$ with flux $Φ$ fixed, making explicit the singular nature of the Dirac string.
title Self-Force of a Dirac String: An Explicit Calculation
topic Classical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.14429