Electromagnetic Momentum as Inertial Correlation Transport

Classical electrodynamics formally assigns momentum to electromagnetic fields to satisfy conservation laws, yet it offers no structural explanation for why an extended, non-material configuration should possess inertia. This paper provides a mechanism grounded in the Structure-First Ontology of the Mutual Information Density Hypothesis (MIDH).

By treating electromagnetic fields as distributed, biunivocal correlation constraints among charged degrees of freedom, we show that field momentum is the manifestation of inertial tension within a sequential update process. When a charge changes state, the correlation graph connecting it to the environment cannot reconfigure globally due to locality constraints (defined here as update adjacency limits rather than geometric distance). The system is forced to execute a sequence of local updates propagating at the maximum synchronization rate (c).

This process generates a directional Update Front – a region of structural asymmetry and resistance to deformation. We reinterpret the Poynting vector not as the flow of a fluid, but as the macroscopic signature of this directional update tension. Furthermore, we define electromagnetic radiation as a specific regime where an update sequence achieves sufficient internal Mutual Information Density to detach from the source and propagate as an autonomous structural entity.

This framework preserves the formalism of Maxwell-Lorentz electrodynamics while supplying the missing ontological explanation for field inertia, unifying it with the informational-inertia conjecture established in previous MIDH works.

Key Concepts:

• Biunivocal Constraints: Field lines interpreted as mutual (two-way) binding correlations, creating structural stiffness.
• Sequential Update Fronts: The mechanism that replaces "field fluid" with discrete, directed graph-rewriting operations.
• Locality as Adjacency: Redefining the speed of light as a synchronization limit on a correlation graph.
• Entity Formation: Deriving the condition for radiation using the MIDH viability ratio (R).

Related Works (The MIDH Series)

This paper is part of the Mutual Information Density Hypothesis framework. It builds upon the ontological primitives established in the following works:

[1] Brănescu, Gabriel. “"The Mutual Information Density Hypothesis: A Minimal Framework for Coherence and Entity Across Systems"”. Zenodo, October 30, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17634946.

[2] Brănescu, Gabriel. “Cosmic Acceleration Without Dark Energy: A MIDH-Based Toy Model of Scale-Factor-Dependent Inertia”. Zenodo, November 19, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17653720.

[3] Brănescu, Gabriel. “Cosmic Acceleration Without Dark Energy: A MIDH-Based Toy Model of Scale-Factor-Dependent Inertia”. Zenodo, November 19, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17653720.

[4] Brănescu, Gabriel. “Entanglement Without Nonlocality: Quantum Correlations as Incomplete Sequences”. Zenodo, November 24, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17694786.

[5] Brănescu, Gabriel. “Chronology-First Ontology: Existence as Ordered Correlation”. Zenodo, November 27, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17741172.

[6] Brănescu, Gabriel. “Foundations of the Mutual Information Density Hypothesis - Ontology, Structural Commitments, and Scope”. Zenodo, December 2, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17784658.