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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
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Non-equilibrium Microwave Plasma for Efficient High Temperature Chemistry
Published on: August 1, 2017
Two-fluid temperature-dependent relativistic waves in magnetized streaming pair plasmas
A R Soto-Chavez1, S M Mahajan, R D Hazeltine
1Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. arsoto@physics.utexas.edu
Summary
This study explores magnetized pair plasmas, finding that temperature and magnetic fields influence wave propagation. Instabilities in slow Alfvén waves persist even with temperature effects in strong magnetic fields.
Area of Science:
- Plasma physics
- Astrophysics
- Magnetohydrodynamics
Background:
- Investigates streaming magnetized pair plasmas relevant to pulsar magnetospheres.
- Considers a relativistic two-fluid, temperature-dependent model.
- Incorporates generalized vorticity frozen into the fluid, not the magnetic field.
Purpose of the Study:
- Analyze wave propagation characteristics in magnetized pair plasmas.
- Examine the influence of temperature and magnetic field strength on plasma modes.
- Determine conditions for instabilities and superluminous/subluminous wave behavior.
Main Methods:
- Employs a relativistic two-fluid approach with temperature dependence.
- Analyzes parallel, perpendicular, and oblique wave propagation.
- Studies the dispersion relation for various magnetic field strengths.
Main Results:
- Identifies four transverse modes for parallel propagation: two electromagnetic and two Alfvénic (fast and slow).
- The slow Alfvén mode exhibits cyclotron two-stream instability and is subluminous.
- Instability is not suppressed by temperature in strong magnetic fields; fast Alfvén mode can be superluminous only at large wavelengths.
Conclusions:
- Temperature effects do not suppress slow mode instabilities in strong magnetic fields.
- Wave behavior is highly dependent on temperature, magnetic field strength, and propagation angle.
- The model provides insights into plasma dynamics in extreme astrophysical environments like pulsar polar caps.
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