English

Generating vorticity and magnetic fields in plasmas in general relativity: spacetime curvature drive

Plasma Physics 2015-06-11 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

Using the generally covariant magnetofluid formalism for a hot plasma, a new spacetime curvature driven mechanism for generating seed vorticity/magnetic field is presented. The ``battery'' owes its origin to the interaction between gravity and the inhomogeneous plasma thermodynamics. The general relativistic drive is evaluated for two simple cases: seed formation in a simplified model of a hot plasma accreting in stable orbits around a Schwarzschild black hole, and for particles in free fall near the horizon. Some astrophysical applications are suggested.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1210.2170,
  title  = {Generating vorticity and magnetic fields in plasmas in general relativity: spacetime curvature drive},
  author = {Felipe A. Asenjo and Swadesh M. Mahajan and Asghar Qadir},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1210.2170},
  year   = {2015}
}