Structure of Aristotelian Electrodynamics

Abstract

Aristotelian electrodynamics (AE) describes the regime of a plasma with a very strong electric field that is not shorted out, with charge current determined completely by pair production and the balance of Lorentz 4-force against curvature radiation reaction. Here it is shown how the principal null directions and associated eigenvalues of the field tensor govern AE, and how force-free electrodynamics arises smoothly from AE when the eigenvalues (and therefore the electric field in some frame) vanish. A criterion for validity of AE is proposed in terms of a pair of "field curvature scalars" formed from the first derivative of the principal null directions.

5 pages; v2: several small changes to the manuscript to improve clarity of explanations; removed condition on radius of curvature of field lines for applicability of force-free approximation; nearly matches version published in PRD

References in corpus (7)

• Horizon-Scale Lepton Acceleration in Jets: Explaining the Compact Radio Emission in M87
• Covariant Lagrangian Methods of Relativistic Plasma Theory
• Aristotelian Electrodynamics solves the Pulsar: Lower Efficiency of Strong Pulsars
• Electrodynamics of Massless Charges with Application to Pulsars
• No-Hair Theorem for Weak Pulsar
• Laboratory gamma-ray pulsar
• Some comments on the electrodynamics of binary pulsars

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Mimetic gravity: a review of recent developments and applications to cosmology and astrophysics
• The Multipolar Magnetic Field of Millisecond Pulsar PSR J0030+0451
• Force-Free Foliations
• Dynamics of ultrarelativistic charged particles with strong radiation reaction. I. Aristotelian equilibrium state
• Bosonization of Strong-Field Pair Plasma
• Dynamics of ultrarelativistic charged particles with strong radiation reaction. II. Entry into Aristotelian equilibrium