Magnetic field screening in strong crossed electromagnetic fields

We consider crossed electric and a magnetic fields (B→=Bzˆ,E→=Eyˆ), with E/B<1, in presence of some initial number of e± pairs. We do not discuss here the mechanism of generation of these initial pairs. The electric field accelerates the pairs to high-energies thereby radiating high-energy synchr...

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Main Authors: S. Campion, J.A. Rueda, R. Ruffini, S.S. Xue
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-09-01
Series:Physics Letters B
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269321005025
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spelling doaj-8c680626f7f0443b9b4e01eb2ed5b1f52021-10-09T04:36:19ZengElsevierPhysics Letters B0370-26932021-09-01820136562Magnetic field screening in strong crossed electromagnetic fieldsS. Campion0J.A. Rueda1R. Ruffini2S.S. Xue3ICRA, Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network Piazza della Repubblica 10, I-65122 Pescara, ItalyICRA, Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network Piazza della Repubblica 10, I-65122 Pescara, Italy; ICRANet-Ferrara, Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, I–44122 Ferrara, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, I–44122 Ferrara, Italy; INAF, Istituto de Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy; Corresponding author at: International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network Piazza della Repubblica 10, I-65122 Pescara, Italy.ICRA, Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network Piazza della Repubblica 10, I-65122 Pescara, Italy; Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, CEDEX 2, Grand Château Parc Valrose, Nice, France; INAF, Viale del Parco Mellini 84, 00136 Rome, ItalyICRA, Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network Piazza della Repubblica 10, I-65122 Pescara, ItalyWe consider crossed electric and a magnetic fields (B→=Bzˆ,E→=Eyˆ), with E/B<1, in presence of some initial number of e± pairs. We do not discuss here the mechanism of generation of these initial pairs. The electric field accelerates the pairs to high-energies thereby radiating high-energy synchrotron photons. These photons interact with the magnetic field via magnetic pair production process (MPP), i.e. γ+B→e++e−, producing additional pairs. We here show that the motion of all the pairs around the magnetic field lines generates a current that induces a magnetic field that shields the initial one. For instance, for an initial number of pairs N±,0=1010, an initial magnetic field of 1012 G can be reduced of a few percent. The screening occurs in the short timescales 10−21≤t≤10−15 s, i.e. before the particle acceleration timescale equals the synchrotron cooling timescale. The present simplified model indicates the physical conditions leading to the screening of strong magnetic fields. To assess the occurrence of this phenomenon in specific astrophysical sources, e.g. pulsars or gamma-ray bursts, the model can be extended to evaluate different geometries of the electric and magnetic fields, quantum effects in overcritical fields, and specific mechanisms for the production, distribution, and multiplicity of the e−e+ pairs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269321005025
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author S. Campion
J.A. Rueda
R. Ruffini
S.S. Xue
spellingShingle S. Campion
J.A. Rueda
R. Ruffini
S.S. Xue
Magnetic field screening in strong crossed electromagnetic fields
Physics Letters B
author_facet S. Campion
J.A. Rueda
R. Ruffini
S.S. Xue
author_sort S. Campion
title Magnetic field screening in strong crossed electromagnetic fields
title_short Magnetic field screening in strong crossed electromagnetic fields
title_full Magnetic field screening in strong crossed electromagnetic fields
title_fullStr Magnetic field screening in strong crossed electromagnetic fields
title_full_unstemmed Magnetic field screening in strong crossed electromagnetic fields
title_sort magnetic field screening in strong crossed electromagnetic fields
publisher Elsevier
series Physics Letters B
issn 0370-2693
publishDate 2021-09-01
description We consider crossed electric and a magnetic fields (B→=Bzˆ,E→=Eyˆ), with E/B<1, in presence of some initial number of e± pairs. We do not discuss here the mechanism of generation of these initial pairs. The electric field accelerates the pairs to high-energies thereby radiating high-energy synchrotron photons. These photons interact with the magnetic field via magnetic pair production process (MPP), i.e. γ+B→e++e−, producing additional pairs. We here show that the motion of all the pairs around the magnetic field lines generates a current that induces a magnetic field that shields the initial one. For instance, for an initial number of pairs N±,0=1010, an initial magnetic field of 1012 G can be reduced of a few percent. The screening occurs in the short timescales 10−21≤t≤10−15 s, i.e. before the particle acceleration timescale equals the synchrotron cooling timescale. The present simplified model indicates the physical conditions leading to the screening of strong magnetic fields. To assess the occurrence of this phenomenon in specific astrophysical sources, e.g. pulsars or gamma-ray bursts, the model can be extended to evaluate different geometries of the electric and magnetic fields, quantum effects in overcritical fields, and specific mechanisms for the production, distribution, and multiplicity of the e−e+ pairs.
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269321005025
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AT jarueda magneticfieldscreeninginstrongcrossedelectromagneticfields
AT rruffini magneticfieldscreeninginstrongcrossedelectromagneticfields
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