Topic: A rotating magnetosphere as a new analogue gravity system

Speaker: Assoc.Prof.Huiquan Li

Coordinates: PCFT C1124, 16:00, Thursday, Mar. 24

Abstract: Magnetospheres are large-scale magnetic fields filled with plasma outside celestial objects. Magnetospheres on compact objects usually rotate rapidly and have superstrong magnetic fields. We argue that a rotating magnetosphere could be a new analogue gravity system, i.e., a pure electromagnetic (EM) system displays features of a gravitational system. In Minkowski spacetime, the rotating magnetosphere has a horizon, the light-cylinder (LC), for charged particles. There probably exists Hawking-like radiation of charged particles from the LC. It also contains a region where negative energy appears, like the ergosphere of a rotating black hole. This potentially leads to superradiance. The results may be extended to the case of rotating magnetic fields in vacuum, which is suitable for tests in laboratory.