Coulomb Law in the Non-Uniform Euler-Heisenberg Theory

Abstract

We consider the non-linear classical field theory which results from adding to the Maxwell's Lagrangian the contributions from the weak-field Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian and a non-uniform part which involves derivatives of the electric and magnetic fields. We focus on the electrostatic case where the magnetic field is set to zero, and we derive the modified Gauss law, resulting in a higher order differential equation. This equation gives the electric field produced by stationary charges in the higher order non-linear electrodynamics. Specializing for the case of a point charge, we investigate the solutions of the modified Gauss law and calculate the correction to the Coulomb law.