CONFORMAL TENSOR AND PETROV CLASSIFICATION FOR THE BOUNDED PART OF THE LIENARD-WIECHERT FIELD

The existing analogies between the Lienard-Wiechert electromagnetic fi eld (LWF) produced by a moving charge and the Robinson-Trautman soluti ons (RT) Of general relativity are further enlarged by showing that th e Petrov type of the bounded part of an LWF is the same as that of a g eneric RT solution. We argue that it is possible to define an electrom agnetic conformal tenser by using a superpotential previously found fo r the LWF. The conformal tenser so constructed allows us to 'Petrov-cl assify' that part of the LWF.