Towards a third-order topological invariant for magnetic fields
摘要
An expression for a third-order link integral of three magnetic fields is presented. It is a topological invariant and therefore an invariant of ideal magnetohydrodynamics. The integral generalizes existing expressions for third-order invariants which are obtained from the Massey triple product, where the three fields are restricted to isolated flux tubes. The derivation and interpretation of the invariant shows a close relationship with the well-known magnetic helicity, which is a second-order topological invariant. Using gauge fields with an SU(2) symmetry, helicity and the new third-order invariant originate from the same identity, an identity which relates the second Chern class and the Chern-Simons three-form. We present an explicit example of three magnetic fields with non-disjunct support. These fields, derived from a vacuum Yang-Mills field with a non-vanishing winding number, possess a third-order linkage detected by our invariant.
引用
@article{arxiv.physics/0203048,
title = {Towards a third-order topological invariant for magnetic fields},
author = {Gunnar Hornig and Christoph Mayer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/0203048},
year = {2009}
}
备注
14 pages, 6 figures