INFN and Padova University, Padova, Italy

Resent developments in non-linear electrodynamics and their implications

I will overview general properties of non-linear electrodynamics and particular models which are distinguished by their symmetries and physical features, such as a recently discovered unique non-linear
modification of Maxwell’s electrodynamics (ModMax) which is conformal and duality invariant. I will sketch how non-linear electromagnetic effects may resolve the issue of the primordial singularity of the Universe and modify properties of gravitational objects, such as charged
black holes. In the second part I will show that, from a
field-theoretical perspective, the duality-symmetric non-linear electrodynamics models can be viewed as different stress-tensor (TTbar-like) deformations of Maxwell’s theory. In particular, ModMax is an new type of a marginal deformation dubbed `root-TTbar’ that has been recently intensively studied in field theories in various space-time
dimensions.