On the microscopic foundations of the relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell equations

The talk reviews the state of affairs in the mathematically rigorous foundations of the special-relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell equations. The progress is made possible by a recent formulation of a well-posed Lorentz co-variant initial value problem for the joint evolution of charged point particles and their electromagnetic Maxwell fields in a Bopp–Land ́e–Thomas–Podolsky (BLTP) vacuum.