Open AccessOn the magnetohydrodynamic description of a two‐component plasma in the Kerr metric
Author(s) -
Khanna Ramon
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1998.01234.x
Subject(s) - physics , magnetohydrodynamic drive , plasma , inviscid flow , classical mechanics , kerr metric , ohm's law , rest frame , magnetohydrodynamics , quantum electrodynamics , general relativity , quantum mechanics , galaxy , schwarzschild metric , redshift
The magnetohydrodynamic equations describing an inviscid, fully ionized plasma in the vicinity of a rotating black hole are derived from a two‐component plasma theory within the framework of the 3+1 split of the Kerr metric. Of central interest is the generalized Ohm’s law. In the limit of quasi‐neutral plasma it contains no new terms as compared with special relativity. Gravitomagnetic terms appear in Ohm’s law only if the plasma is charged in its rest frame or the magnetohydrodynamic approximation is not applied. It is argued that a relativistic single‐fluid description of a multiple‐component plasma is possible only for cold (i.e. intrinsically non‐relativistic) components. As seen by local stationary observers, close to the horizon the electron collision time becomes longer than dynamical time‐scales, i.e. the plasma appears to behave like particles.