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arXiv · 2307.05844

Self-consistent interaction of linear gravitational and electromagnetic waves in non-magnetized plasma

Abstract

This paper explores the hybridization of linear metric perturbations with linear electromagnetic (EM) perturbations in non-magnetized plasma for a general background metric. The local wave properties are derived from first principles for inhomogeneous plasma, without assuming any symmetries of the background metric. First, we derive the effective (``oscillation-center'') Hamiltonian that governs the average dynamics of plasma particles in a prescribed quasimonochromatic wave that involves metric perturbations and EM fields simultaneously. Then, using this Hamiltonian, we derive the backreaction of plasma particles on the wave itself and obtain gauge-invariant equations that describe the resulting self-consistent gravito-electromagnetic (GEM) waves in a plasma. The transverse tensor modes of gravitational waves are found to have no interaction with the plasma and the EM modes in the geometrical-optics limit. However, for ``longitudinal" GEM modes with large values of the refraction index, the interplay between gravitational and EM interactions in plasma can have a strong effect. In particular, the dispersion relation of the Jeans mode is significantly affected by electrostatic interactions. As a spin-off, our calculation also provides an alternative resolution of the so-called Jeans swindle.

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BibTeXRIS

Deepen Garg, I. Y. Dodin. 2023-07-11. Self-consistent interaction of linear gravitational and electromagnetic waves in non-magnetized plasma. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516%2F2024%2F02%2F045

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