Joint Israeli gravity seminar 17/12/2024
Title: Geometry of Strong-Field Electrodynamics
Abstract: I will discuss two different strong-field limits of electrodynamics that possess emergent geometrical properties: (1) In strong magnetic fields, particles obey the Lorentz force law on two-dimensional submanifolds representing worldsheets of magnetic field lines; (2) In strong electric fields, particles move along the principal null directions of the Maxwell field with a (large) Lorentz factor determined by the field line curvature. For many particles coupled self-consistently to Maxwell’s equations, these limits provide a simplified description of the strong-field plasma that arises outside pulsars and active black holes. In addition to providing theoretical insight, the geometrical formulation has the potential to vastly reduce the computational resources needed to model these compact object magnetospheres.