I've started reading Peskin and Schroeder on my own time, and I'm a bit confused about how to obtain Maxwell's equations from the (source-free) lagrangian density L=−14FμνFμν (where Fμν=∂μAν−∂νAμ is the field tensor).
Substituting in for the definition of the field tensor yields L=−12[(∂μAν)(∂μAν)−(∂μAν)(∂νAμ)]. I know I should be using Aμ as the dynamical variable in the Euler-Lagrange equations, which become ∂L∂Aμ−∂μ∂L∂(∂μAν)=−∂μ∂L∂(∂μAν), but I'm confused about how to proceed from here.
I know I should end up with ∂μFμν=0, but I don't quite see why. Since μ and ν are dummy indices, I should be able to change them: how do the indices in the lagrangian relate to the indices in the derivatives in the Euler-Lagrange equations?
Answer
Well, you are almost there. Use the fact that ∂(∂μAν)∂(∂ρAσ)=δρμδσν
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