The European Physical Journal Plus

Standing wave solutions for the Free Maxwell Equations in Vacuum with azimuthal
simmetry in cilindrical coordinates
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Full Title: Standing wave solutions for the Free Maxwell Equations in Vacuum with azimuthal
simmetry in cilindrical coordinates

Article Type: Regular Article

Section/Category: Quantum, Mathematical and General Physics

Corresponding Author: DAVID ANTONIO PEREZ CARLOS, Ph. D.

Autonomous University of Zacatecas: Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas
MEXICO

Corresponding Author Secondary

Information:

Corresponding Author's Institution: Autonomous University of Zacatecas: Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas

Corresponding Author's Secondary

Institution:

First Author: DAVID ANTONIO PEREZ CARLOS, Ph. D.

First Author Secondary Information:

Order of Authors: DAVID ANTONIO PEREZ CARLOS, Ph. D.

Alejandro Birgilio Gutiérrez Rodríguez

Augusto Espinoza Garrido

Order of Authors Secondary Information:

Funding Information:

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to get analytical solutions for the Free Maxwell Equations in
Vacuum, using a cylindrical coordinate system, considering axial symmetry. The
solutions represent steady-state electromagnetic field configurations in the form of
closed magnetic surfaces where the magnetic field is time-dependent and tangential
on these surfaces, and there is no electric field on them, and each of these closed
surfaces includes a ring-like configuration of time-dependent electric field and
tangential to the ring, without magnetic field on them. We analyse the temporal
variation of the energy density together with the Poynting vector field, which describes
the electromagnetic energy flow. We conclude that these configurations behave as
standing wave solutions.

Suggested Reviewers: Héctor Munera

UNAL Bogota: Universidad Nacional de Colombia
hmunera@hotmail.com
Expert on topic

Wolfgang Engelhardt
Max-Planck-Institute of Plasma Physics: Max-Planck-Institut fur Plasmaphysik
wolfgangw.engelhardt@T-Online.de
Expert on Topics

Roman Smirnov Rueda

Complutense University of Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid
dlkhokhl@rambler.ru
Expert on topics

Boris P. Kosiakok
FSUE Russian Federal Nuclear Center All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental
Physics: FGUP Rossijskij Federalnyj Adernyj Centr Vserossijskij naucno-
issledovatel'skij institut eksperimental'noj fiziki

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 kosyakov@vniief.ru
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Michael Ibison
Instituto de Estudios Avanzados en Austin Texas
ibison@earthtech.org
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1
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5
6 Standing wave solutions for the Free Maxwell
7
8 Equations in Vacuum with azimuthal symmetry
9
10 in cylindrical coordinates
11
12
13 D. A. Pérez-Carlos1*, A. Gutiérrez-Rodrı́guez1 and
14 A. Espinoza Garrido2
15
1* UnidadAcadémica de Fı́sica, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas,
16
17 Av. Solidaridad s/n, Apartado Postal C-580, Zacatecas, 98060,
18 Zacatecas, México.
19 2 Unidad Académica de Ciencia y Tecnologı́a de la Luz y la Materia,
20
21 Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Circuito Marie Curie S/N, Parque
22 de Ciencia y Tecnologı́a QUANTUM Ciudad del Conocimiento,
23 Zacatecas, 98160, Zacatecas, México.
24
25
26 *Corresponding author(s). E-mail(s): dperezcarlos@gmail.com;
27
Contributing authors: alexgu@fisica.uaz.edu.mx ;
28
29 drespinozag@yahoo.com.mx ;
30
31
32 Abstract
33 The aim of this paper is to get analytical solutions for the Free Maxwell Equations
34 in Vacuum, using a cylindrical coordinate system, considering axial symmetry.
35 The solutions represent steady-state electromagnetic field configurations in the
36 form of closed magnetic surfaces where the magnetic field is time-dependent and
37 tangential on these surfaces, and there is no electric field on them, and each of
38 these closed surfaces includes a ring-like configuration of time-dependent electric
39 field and tangential to the ring, without magnetic field on them. We analyse
40 the temporal variation of the energy density together with the Poynting vector
41 field, which describes the electromagnetic energy flow. We conclude that these
42 configurations behave as standing wave solutions.
43
Keywords: Free Maxwell Equations in Vacuum, Interference processes, Cylindrical
44 coordinates with axial symmetry
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50 1
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 1 Introduction
1
2 The present article continues the works published in [1, 2] where the Free Maxwell
3 Equations in Vacuum (FMEV) were solved in spherical coordinates. Here, we will use
4 cylindrical coordinates to treat the same problem, as before we will consider axial
5 symmetry, and we will analyse the behaviour of the Poynting vector field flow and the
6 temporal behavior of the energy density. As in our previous works, we expect to find
7 standing wave solutions for the electromagnetic field.
8 The FMEV are
9 ∇ · E = 0, (1)
10
1 ∂B
11 ∇×E=− , (2)
12 c ∂t
13 ∇ · B = 0, (3)
14 1 ∂E
∇×B= . (4)
15 c ∂t
16 For the solution of the equations, we use the method of separation of variables. We
17 propose
18 E(r, t) = e(r)ψ(t) and B(r, t) = b(r)χ(t), (5)
19
where ψ(t) and χ(t) are functions of time, e(r) is a polar vector and b(r) is an axial
20
one.
21
22 Substituting (5) in the FMEV system (1)-(4), we get
23
24 ∇ · e = 0, (6)
25
ω
26 ∇×e= b, (7)
27 c
28 ∇ · b = 0, (8)
29 ω
∇ × b = e, (9)
30 c
31 ψ ′′ + ω 2 ψ = 0, (10)
32 ′′ 2
χ + ω χ = 0. (11)
33
34 We have the solutions for Eqs. (10) and (11) as
35
36 ψ(t) = A sin (ωt) and χ(t) = A cos (ωt), (12)
37
38 where A is an arbitrary constant, which for the sake of simplicity we choose equal to
39 unity. If we denote k = ω/c, then the equations for e and b are as follows
40
41 ∇ × e = kb and ∇ × b = ke, (13)
42
43 for the rotational of the spatial parts of the electric and magnetic fields.
44 To solve Eqs. (13), we can add the two equations in order to get
45
46 ∇ × a = ka, (14)
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50 2
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 where
1 a(r) = e(r) + b(r), (15)
2 then we will split the vector a(r) into their axial and polar parts by means of
3
4 1
5 e(r) = [a(r) − a(−r)] , (16)
6 2
7 1
8 b(r) = [a(r) + a(−r)] . (17)
2
9
Eqs. (16) and (17) will be used to deduct the spatial parts of E(r, t) and B(r, t).
10
Linearity in Eq. (14) is guaranteed by the fact that k is a constant quantity whose
11
12 units are cm−1 . We can find this equation in plasma physics, astrophysics [3, 4], and
13 hydrodynamics [5, 6]. The former is known as the force-free magnetic field equation,
14 whereas the latter is known as the Trkalian equation.
15
16
17 2 Solution of ∇ × a = ka in cylindrical coordinates
18
19 We consider axial symmetry, which means that in cylindrical coordinates the field
20 components of a are functions of ρ and z, that is,
21
22 a(ρ, z) = aρ (ρ, z)êρ + aϕ (ρ, z)êϕ + az (ρ, z)êz . (18)
23
24 We have that Eq. (14), gives us the next three equations
25
26 ∂aϕ
27 = −kaρ , (19)
∂z
28
29 ∂aρ ∂az
30 − = kaϕ , (20)
∂z ∂ρ
31
32 ∂(ρaϕ )
= kρaz . (21)
33 ∂ρ
34 After substituting Eqs. (19) and (21) into Eq. (20), we obtain
35
36 ∂ 2 aϕ ∂aϕ ∂ 2 aϕ
37 ρ2 2
+ρ + (k 2 ρ2 − 1)aϕ + ρ2 = 0. (22)
∂ρ ∂ρ ∂z 2
38
39 We propose aϕ (ρ, ϕ) = η(ρ)ζ(z), to separate Eq. (22) into two ordinary differential
40 equations, namely,
41 d2 η dη
42 ρ2 2 + ρ + [(k 2 − ν 2 )ρ2 − 1]η = 0, (23)
dρ dρ
43
44 and
d2 ζ
45 + ν 2 ζ = 0, (24)
46 dz 2
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 where ν 2 is√the constant of separation. Eq. (23) is the Bessel equation of first kind with
1 argument k 2 − ν 2 ρ, and order 1. While Eq. (24) is the simple harmonic oscillator
2 equation. Solution of Eq. (23) is
3
4 p 
η(ρ) = kJ1 k2 − ν 2 ρ . (25)
5
6
7 On the other hand, the solution for Eq. (24) is
8
9 ζ(z) = A sin νz + B cos νz, (26)
10
11 where A and B are arbitrary constants. For simplicity, we consider A = 0 and B = 1.
12 Therefore, the solution for aϕ is given by
13
14 p 
15 aϕ (ρ, z) = kJ1 k 2 − ν 2 ρ cos νz. (27)
16
17 If Eq. (27) is substituted into Eqs. (19) and (21), we get aρ and az
18 p 
19 aρ (ρ, z) = νJ1 k 2 − ν 2 ρ sin νz, (28)
20
21 p 
22 az (ρ, z) = ξJ0 k 2 − ν 2 ρ cos νz. (29)
23
24 We have used the next property for Bessel functions to get az
25
d ν
26 [x Jν (x)] = xν Jν−1 (x).
27 dx
28
29 Therefore, the general solution for a(ρ, z) given by (18) is
30
31 a(ρ, z) = νJ1 (ξρ) sin νz êρ + kJ1 (ξρ) cos νz êϕ + ξJ0 (ξρ) cos νz êz , (30)
32 √
33 where ξ = k 2 − ν 2 . Now that we have obtained the vector a as a function of the
34 coordinates ρ and z, the next step is to analyse the parity of the components of this
35 vector.
36
37 2.1 Parity analysis
38
39 We need to study the behaviour of the components of the vector a(ρ, z) under the
40 coordinate inversion transformation (x, y, z) → (−x, −y, −z), thus determining its
41 polar and axial parts. We have
42 p
43 ρ = x2 + y 2 , (31)
44
45 x
cos ϕ = p , (32)
46 x2 + y2
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 y
sin ϕ = p . (33)
1 + y2x2
2 The unit vectors êρ , êϕ and êz in Cartesian coordinates are
3
4 êρ = cos ϕ î + sin ϕ ĵ, (34)
5
6
7 êϕ = − sin ϕ î + cos ϕ ĵ, (35)
8 êz = ẑ. (36)
9 By analysing unit vectors (34)-(36) through Eqs. (32) and (33) we have that under
10 inversion transformation êρ → −êρ , êϕ → −êϕ and êz → êz .
11 Moreover, the Bessel functions do not change signs under the inversion transformation,
12 as well as the cosine function, only sine changes sign. J0 (ξρ) → J0 (ξρ), J1 (ξρ) →
13
J1 (ξρ), cos νz → cos νz. sin νz → − sin νz. Using our last results we have
14
15
16 aρ êρ → aρ êρ , aϕ êϕ → −aϕ êϕ , az êz → az êz . (37)
17
18 Thus, we have obtained the spatial parts of the electric and magnetic vector fields as
19
20 e(r) = kJ1 (ξρ) cos νz êϕ , (38)
21
22 b(r) = νJ1 (ξρ) sin νz êρ + ξJ0 (ξρ) cos νz êz . (39)
23 In this way, the fields E(r, t) and B(r, t) are
24
25 E(r, t) = kJ1 (ξρ) cos νz sin ωt êϕ , (40)
26
27
B(r, t) = [νJ1 (ξρ) sin νz êρ + ξJ0 (ξρ) cos νz êz ] cos ωt. (41)
28
29
30 3 Magnetic geometric loci
31
32 To find magnetic surfaces we consider the geometric loci where the electric field E(r, t)
33 vanishes at every point of that surface and every moment of time, with the additional
34 condition that B(r, t) is not null.
35 From Eq. (40), we can see that
36 E(r, t) = 0, (42)
37 is valid only if
38 aϕ (ρ, z) = 0, (43)
39
40 which is split into the two conditions
41
42 J1 (ξρ) = 0, (44)
43
44 cos νz = 0. (45)
45
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 Then, Eq. (42) is satisfied if any of Eqs. (44) and (45) is satisfied.
1 In [6] it is shown that an infinite number of solutions exist for Bessel functions and
2 the roots are real. The solutions for Eq. (44) are
3
4 xi
ρi = , (46)
5 ξ
6
7 where xi , i = 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., are the roots of the Bessel function of the first kind J1 (x)
8 ordered in an increasing form
9
10 0 = x0 < x1 < x2 < x3 < · · ·. (47)
11
12 The quantities ρi define the radii of the geometrical locations with only a magnetic
13 field, so we call them as radii of magnetic cylinders. The root x0 = 0 corresponds to the
14 z-axis and is a degenerate cylinder. The condition (45), is fulfilled if zn = (2n+1)π/2ν,
15
for n = ..., −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, .... Each value of zn defines a plane parallel to the xy plane,
16
π/ν units apart from each other. There are infinite planes. If the condition (44) is
17
18 satisfied, the magnetic field is given by
19
20 B(r, t) = ξJ0 (ξρ) cos νz êz . (48)
21
22 On the other hand, if condition (45) is satisfied, then the magnetic field is given by
23
24 B(r, t) = νJ1 (ξρ) sin νz êρ . (49)
25
26 It is worth mentioning that the z-axis is also a geometric locus where there is also a
27 magnetic field, and is given, in Cartesian coordinates as
28
29 B(0, 0, z, t) = ξ cos νz êz , (50)
30
31 since J0 (0) = 1. This means that the magnetic field oscillates harmonically in the z
32 axis with an amplitude ξ.
33
34
35 4 Electric geometric loci
36
37 Now we want to find the geometric locations where the magnetic field is zero, with
38 the additional condition that the electric field must not cancel out, that is,
39
40 B(r, t) = 0, (51)
41
42 provided that,
43 E(r, t) ̸= 0.
44 Eq. (51) is split into
45 J1 (ξρ) sin νz = 0, (52)
46
and
47
J0 (ξρ) cos νz = 0. (53)
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 In order for Eqs. (52) and (53) to be satisfied simultaneously, and considering the fact
1 that the electric field must not cancel out, we have
2
3 J0 (ξ ρ̃) = 0, (54)
4
5 and
6 sin ν z̃ = 0. (55)
7
We have that x̃1 = ξ ρ̃i , for i = 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., are the roots of the Bessel function of first
8
9 kind J0 , also ordered in a increasing form
10
11 1 = x̃0 < x̃1 < x̃2 < · · ·. (56)
12
13 Now, ρ̃i for i = 0, 1, 2, 3, ... defines the radii of what we call secondary cylinders,
14 whereas the solutions of condition (55) are z̃n = nπ/ν, for n = ..., −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, ....
15 They give us infinite parallel planes called secondary planes. The intersection between
16 the solutions of Eqs. (53) and (54) are rings. These electric rings define the geometric
17 loci where there is only an electric field.
18 Conditions (53) and (54) taken together give us an infinite number of solutions, so
19 that we obtain an infinite number of electric field rings whose radii are ρ̃i , and they
20 are in the planes defined by z̃n As we already mentioned, the rings arise from the
21 intersection of the radii of secondary cylinders and the secondary planes.
22 For the numerical analysis, we have assigned the values of the constants k = 5 cm−1
23 and ν = 3 cm−1 . The data from Tables 1 and 2 were used to plot the graphics. All
24 graphics were made in MathematicaTM .
25 Figure 1, illustrate the magnetic field cylinders concentric to the z-axis, the magnetic
26
axis which is the z-axis itself, and the magnetic planes parallel to the xy plane which
27
are plotted in cyan colour. The infinite number of solutions implies the existence of
28
29 an infinite number of magnetic cylinders and magnetic planes, which are separated
30 by the distance π/3 cm. The values of the radii of the cylinders and the locations of
31 the magnetic planes are given in Table 1. In Figure 1, we can also see the electric
32 field rings in yellow colour. The secondary planes, z̃n are also separated by the same
33 distance π/3 cm, but now the first secondary plane coincides with the xy plane. The
34 secondary radii, denoted by ρ̃i , and the locations of the secondary planes, denoted by
35 z̃i are tabulated in Table 2.
36
37 Table 1 Radii of magnetic cylinders and magnetic planes.
38
39 Radii of magnetic cylinders (cm) Magnetic planes (cm)
40 ρ0 = 0 z0 = π/6 z−1 = −π/6
41 ρ1 = 0.9579 z1 = π/2 z−2 = −π/2
42 ρ2 = 1.7539 z2 = 5π/6 z−3 = −5π/6
43 ρ3 = 2.2533 z3 = 7π/6 z−4 = −7π/6
44 ρ4 = 3.3309 z4 = 3π/2 z−5 = −3π/2
ρ5 = 4.1176 z5 = 11π/6 z−6 = −11π/6
45 ··· ·· · ···
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 Table 2 Radii of secondary cylinders and secondary magnetic planes.
1
2 Radii of secondary cylinders (cm) Secondary planes (cm)
3 ρ̃0 = 0.6012 z̃0 =0 z̃−1 = −π/3
4 ρ̃1 = 1.3800 z̃1 = π/3 z̃−2 = −2π/3
5 ρ̃2 = 2.1634 z̃2 = 2π/3 z̃−3 = −π
ρ̃3 = 2.9478 z̃3 =π z̃−4 = −4π/3
6 ρ̃4 = 3.7327 z̃4 = 4π/3 z̃−5 = −5π/3
7 ··· ·· · ···
8
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33
34 Fig. 1 Magnetic and electric loci. This plot shows the magnetic axis, the magnetic cylinders, and
the magnetic planes in cyan colour, whereas the electric rings are in yellow. To better visualize the
35 graph, we do not show a quarter of the surfaces of the magnetic cylinders and planes.
36
37
38
39 5 Energy density
40 We have that energy density measured in Gaussian units is
41
42 1
E2 + B2 ,


43 W = (57)
8π
44
45 √ √
where E = E · E and B = B · B are the magnitudes of the electric and magnetic
46
field vectors respectively.
47
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50 8
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 Eqs. (40) and (41) are stationary wave solutions, which implies that energy density
1 also behaves as a stationary wave, to see how energy density behaves we will separate
2 the energy density into two parts, one independent of time and another dependent.
3
4
 
1 2
5 W (r, t) = W0 + W0 − (kJ1 (ξρ) cos νz) cos 2ωt, (58)
8π
6
7 where
8
9 1 
(kJ1 (ξρ) cos νz)2 + (νJ1 (ξρ) sin νz)2 + (ξJ0 (ξρ) cos νz)2 ,

10 W0 = (59)
16π
11
12 is the value around which the energy density oscillates. In Figs. 2-6 we can see the
13 temporal evolution of energy density at different instants of time through t = 0 to
14 t = τ , the period, in the xz plane, which is the cross-section of the configuration of the
15 electromagnetic field. Comparing Eqs. (40), (41), and (58), we can see that the period
16 of oscillation of the electromagnetic field is twice the period of oscillation of the energy
17 density around W0 . To find the geometric locations for which the energy density is
18 constant, we make the time part of Eq. (58) equal zero. We can see in Fig. 7, the
19 cross-section of the surfaces where the energy density remains constant in time, they
20
are shown in blue colour, whereas we can appreciate the cross-section of the rings as
21
yellow points, and we see the cross-section of the magnetic cylinders and the magnetic
22
23 planes in cyan colour. The surfaces of constant energy density are toroids, and they
24 are obtained by rotating 360◦ the curves in blue colour from Fig. 7 around z axis.
25
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45 Fig. 2 Energy density in the xz plane at t = 0 and t = 8τ /8.
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50 9
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 1
2
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19 Fig. 3 Energy density in the xz plane at t = τ /8 and t = 7τ /8.
20
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Fig. 4 Energy density in the xz plane at t = 2τ /8 and t = 6τ /8.
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 1
2
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19 Fig. 5 Energy density in the xz plane at t = 3τ /8 and t = 5τ /8.
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43 Fig. 6 Energy density in the xz plane at t = 4τ /8.
44
45
46 The locations where the energy density remains constant over time are called the
47 energy density nodal surfaces, and they are nodes of this energy density standing wave.
48
49
50 11
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 The equation of this nodal energy density surface is
1
2 2
2 [νJ1 (ξρ) sin νz] + [ξJ0 (ξρ) cos νz] = [kJ1 (ξρ) cos νz]2 , (60)
3
4 the graphic cross-section of those nodal surfaces is shown in Fig. 7. The nodal surface
5 near the origin of coordinates is shown in Fig. 8.
6
7
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28 Fig. 7 Cross-section of the nodal surfaces are given in blue colour, the cross-section of the magnetic
29 traps are given in cyan colour, and cross-section of electric rings are given by the yellow points.
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 1
2
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19
20 Fig. 8 Nodal surface near the origin of coordinates. This graphic was plotted in the intervals x ∈
21 [−0.6, 0.6], y ∈ [−0.6, 0.6], and z ∈ [0.5, 0.5].
22
23
24 6 The Poynting vector field
25
c
26 The Poynting vector S = 4π (E × B) is a measure of the momentum density carried
27 by the electromagnetic field. For the solutions (40) and (41) is
28
29 ω 
ξJ0 (ξρ)J1 (ξρ) cos2 νz êρ − ν[J1 (ξρ)]2 sin νz cos νz êz sin 2ωt.

S(ρ, z, t) = (61)
30 8π
31
32 Eq. (61) shows that the Poynting vector field is a standing wave oscillating around its
33 null value and taking opposite directions over time. Its period τ is equal to half the
34 period T of oscillation of the electromagnetic field. We have a visual representation
35 of the spatial distribution of the Poynting vector field in Fig. 9 for the cross-section
36 of the Poynting vector field in the xy plane, and in Fig. 10 the cross-section of the
37 Poynting vector field in the xz plane, both are plotted for the instant of time t = τ /4.
38 The total linear momentum inside each trap is null, which means that there is no
39 energy flow outside each trap. In other words, the electromagnetic energy is conserved
40 inside each trap.
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21 Fig. 9 The Poynting vector field distribution at time t = τ /4 in the plane xy. Next to the graph the
22 energy density magnitude, expressed in the colour-scale bar, is shown. The cyan and yellow traces
23 are the cross-sections of the magnetic cylinders and the electric rings.
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20 Fig. 10 The Poynting vector field distribution at time t = τ /4 in the plane xz. Vertical cyan lines
21 are the cross-section of the cylinders, while horizontal cyan lines represent the cross-section of the
22 magnetic planes, and yellow dots represent the cross-section of the electric rings.
23
24
25 7 The magnetic traps
26
27 The magnetic traps we have obtained are formed by two consecutive cylinders inter-
28 sected by two consecutive planes. In Fig. 11, we show one of the infinite number of
29 magnetic traps.
30 We see that inside each trap there is one and only one nodal surface, and one and only
31 one electric ring. As we mentioned above, the energy flow oscillates between the mag-
32 netic trap to the electric ring in half of the period, and the other half it flows from the
33 electric ring to the magnetic trap. We can also see that nodal surfaces remain constant
34 over time. From these considerations, we can conclude that in each magnetic trap, the
35
electromagnetic field Eqs. (40) and (41) behaves as individual and autonomous steady
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electromagnetic perturbations.
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23 Fig. 11 Magnetic trap of height π/3 cm and width 0.78755 cm, given by the difference of the two
24 consecutive cylinders. The radius of the electric ring is 2.947875 cm. For a better visualization we
25 have omitted a quarter of the graph of the magnetic trap as before.
26
27
28 8 Conclusions
29
30 The method we have established allows us to obtain the solutions to FMEV as the
31 product of two functions, one dependent only on the spatial coordinates and the other
32 in sinusoidal form with dependence only on the time coordinate.
33 We have found standing wave solutions for the electromagnetic field. These solutions
34 allow the existence of infinite closed magnetic field surfaces, formed by concentric
35 cylinders to the z-axis, With a time-dependent magnetic field along the z-axis such
36 cylinders and magnetic axis are intersected by infinite planes parallel to the plane
37 z = 0. Inside each magnetic trap, there is an electric field in the form of a ring, all
38 these rings are concentric to the z-axis.
39 Each magnetic trap has the following characteristics:
40 1. The magnetic traps have the form of a hollow flat washer. The magnetic field is
41 time-dependent and is tangential on the surface of the trap.
42 2. There is one and only one electric field inside each trap. The electric field is tan-
43 gential along the ring and time-dependent.
44 3. The electromagnetic energy is conserved.
45
4. Both the energy density and the electromagnetic energy flow also behave as stand-
46
ing waves.
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48 5. Within each magnetic trap there is one and only one toroidal-shaped energy nodal
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 surface.
1 The electromagnetic energy oscillates in such a way that in half of the period, the
2 energy flow goes from the magnetic surface to the ring, and vice versa in the other
3 half of the period.
4 Our stationary wave solutions are the result of the interference of some electromag-
5 netic waves.
6 The electric rings obtained in this work are analogous to those obtained by Cameron
7
[7]. Both have monochromatic behavior and the electric fields in both solutions vary
8
in the azimuthal direction. We have an infinite number of solutions that describe the
9
10 electric rings, in addition, they are different in spatial dependence.
11 It is worth mentioning that our work complements other studies reported in the litera-
12 ture on the topic of the force-free magnetic equation [8, 9] and magnetic traps [10, 11].
13 Furthermore, given that classical electrodynamics is a field that has not yet been fully
14 explored, it is very pertinent to address this type of topic, such as the case of the classi-
15 cal equations of electromagnetism [12–15]. We explore solutions in different coordinate
16 systems and consider different types of symmetries to simplify the exact solutions of
17 these systems of equations. Moreover, the electromagnetic configurations described in
18 this article could be applied as plasma containers at the limit of low-density plasma.
19
20
21
Declarations
22 • Data Availability Statement: All data generated or analysed during this study are
23 included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).
24
25
26 Acknowledgements
27
28 D. A. P. C. appreciates the post-doctoral stay founded by CONAHCYT. A. G. R.
29 thank SNI (México).
30
31 References
32
33 [1] Chubykalo, A.E., Espinoza, A.A.: Unusual formations of the electromagnetic
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37 [2] Pérez-Carlos, D.A., Gutiérrez Rodrı́guez, A., Espinoza Garrido, A.: Steady-
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42 [3] Wiegelmann, T., Sakurai, T.: Solar force-free magnetic fields. Living Reviews in
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