Self consistent estimates of magnetic fields from reheating

Abstract

We investigate the generation of primordial magnetic fields from stochastic currents created by the cosmological transition from inflation to reheating. We consider N charged scalar fields coupled to the electromagnetic field in a curved background and derive self-consistent equations for the evolution of the two point functions of the fields, which in the large N limit give a decoupled set for the scalar and the electromagnetic functions. The main contribution to the electric current comes from the infrared portion of the spectrum of created particles, and in this limit the damping of the magnetic field is not due to normal conductivity but to London currents in the scalar field. For a given set of the physical parameters of the problem, we solved this equation numerically and found that, due to the fact that the London currents are oscillating, the field actually grows exponentially during the time interval in which our large-N limit equations are valid. Although for the chosen parameters the induced field is weak, the present uncertainties on their actual values leave open the possibility for higher intensities.