IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/ijmpcx/v36y2025i06ns0129183124502346.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Field theory with the Maxima computer algebra system

Author

Listed:
  • Viktor T. Toth

    (Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 9H5, Canada)

Abstract

The Maxima computer algebra system, the open-source successor to MACSYMA, the first general-purpose computer algebra system that was initially developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late 1960s and later distributed by the United States Department of Energy, has some remarkable capabilities, some of which are implemented in the form of add-on, “share†packages that are distributed along with the core Maxima system. One such share package is itensor, for indicial tensor manipulation. One of the more remarkable features of itensor is functional differentiation. Through this, it is possible to use itensor to develop a Lagrangian field theory and derive the corresponding field equations. In this paper, we demonstrate this capability by deriving Maxwell’s equations from the Maxwell Lagrangian, and exploring the properties of the system, including current conservation.

Suggested Citation

  • Viktor T. Toth, 2025. "Field theory with the Maxima computer algebra system," International Journal of Modern Physics C (IJMPC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 36(06), pages 1-8, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ijmpcx:v:36:y:2025:i:06:n:s0129183124502346
    DOI: 10.1142/S0129183124502346
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0129183124502346
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1142/S0129183124502346?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wsi:ijmpcx:v:36:y:2025:i:06:n:s0129183124502346. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tai Tone Lim (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.worldscinet.com/ijmpc/ijmpc.shtml .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.