Double gauge invariance and covariantly-constant vector fields in Weyl geometry

The wave equation and equations of covariantly-constant vector fields (CCVF) in spaces with Weyl nonmetricity turn out to possess, in addition to the canonical conformal-gauge, a gauge invariance of another type. On a Minkowski metric background, the CCVF system alone allows us to pin down the Weyl 4-metricity vector, identified herein with the electromagnetic potential. The fundamental solution is given by the ordinary Lienard-Wiechert field, in particular, by the Coulomb distribution for a charge at rest. Unlike the latter, however, the magnitude of charge is necessarily unity, "elementary", and charges of opposite signs correspond to retarded and advanced potentials respectively, thus establishing a direct connection between the particle/antiparticle asymmetry and the "arrow of time". © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.