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I got to know about a kind of theory or formulation of EM which doesn't have the idea of fields in it. In that theory I guess field isn't that which mediates the force between two charged particles. In the case of classical EM theory, we choose to say that two interacting charged particles, which are separated by certain distance, have their fields interacting or let's say that each particle is in the field of the other particle and hence experiences force.

I came across a type of theory which does not choose field as an independent degree of freedom, i.e., particles don't need an omnipresent field to exert force or transmit energy. However, intuitively I realize the necessity of something to travel from one particle to another, so as to transmit energy or let's say for the force to be exerted. So, I wanted to know what replaces fields as the link between particles .

From the comments, I got to know about an advanced version of such a theory which goes by the name of Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory. Reading about that theory suggests involvement of waves between particles, which play the role of absorber and emitter. So are waves the agents that link up the exchange between particles? What kind of wave is being referred to in that theory?

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    $\begingroup$ Welcome to Physics StackExchange. I think you are asking about something like local field theories? Like, what's the difference between a photon-mediating the electron magnetic force versus the instantaneous coulomb potential description? Is that what you are asking about? $\endgroup$
    – hft
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 7:27
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    $\begingroup$ @hft : Maybe but cannot certainly say because of the jargons you have used ...Basically , I would like to know how do we view ,in direct interaction theory , the electrostatic attraction . Like when we use fields we say that the particles exert force one another by interacting with each other's fields. So , how do paricles exert force on each other according to this theory ...does something propagate or travel from one particle to another ? $\endgroup$
    – Sheldon Kripke
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 10:10
  • $\begingroup$ Please give a reference for "direct interaction theory". I think you might be talking about effective field theories where the mediating field has been integrated out, but it is merely an approximation, not an equivalent theory for the physics at all scales. $\endgroup$
    – ACuriousMind ♦
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 14:22
  • $\begingroup$ @ACuriousMind : What is meant by mediating fields being integrated out ? $\endgroup$
    – Sheldon Kripke
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 14:36
  • $\begingroup$ @SheldonKripke: It's a technical (QFT) term, see this question. $\endgroup$
    – ACuriousMind ♦
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 14:38

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