Quantizing Galilean spacetime: a reconstruction of Maxwell’s equations in empty space

Abstract As was recently shown, non-relativistic quantum theory can be derived by means of a projection method from a continuum of classical solutions for (massive) particles. In this paper, we show that Maxwell’s equations in empty space can be derived using the same method. In this case, the starting point is a continuum of solutions of equations of motion for massless particles describing the structure of Galilean space-time. As a result of the projection, the space-time structure itself is changed by the appearance of a new fundamental constant c with the dimension of a velocity. This maximum velocity c , derived here for massless particles, is analogous to the accuracy limit $$\hbar $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mi>ħ</mml:mi> </mml:math> derived earlier for massive particles. The projection method can thus be interpreted as a generalized quantization. We suspect that all fundamental fields can be traced back to continuous sets of particle trajectories, and that in this sense, the particle concept is more fundamental than the field concept.