  We consider the discretization of electromagnetic wave propagation problems
by a discontinuous Galerkin Method based on Trefftz polynomials. This method
fits into an abstract framework for space-time discontinuous Galerkin methods
for which we can prove consistency, stability, and energy dissipation without
the need to completely specify the approximation spaces in detail. Any method
of such a general form results in an implicit time-stepping scheme with some
basic stability properties. For the local approximation on each space-time
element, we then consider Trefftz polynomials, i.e., the subspace of
polynomials that satisfy Maxwell's equations exactly on the respective element.
We present an explicit construction of a basis for the local Trefftz spaces in
two and three dimensions and summarize some of their basic properties. Using
local properties of the Trefftz polynomials, we can establish the
well-posedness of the resulting discontinuous Galerkin Trefftz method.
Consistency, stability, and energy dissipation then follow immediately from the
results about the abstract framework. The method proposed in this paper
therefore shares many of the advantages of more standard discontinuous Galerkin
methods, while at the same time, it yields a substantial reduction in the
number of degrees of freedom and the cost for assembling. These benefits and
the spectral convergence of the scheme are demonstrated in numerical tests.
