Spin magnetosonic shocks in quantum plasmas

TL;DR

This paper investigates the formation and characteristics of magnetosonic shock waves in quantum plasmas, incorporating quantum and spin effects, with implications for astrophysical and laboratory plasma environments.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum magnetohydrodynamic model including Bohm potential and spin forces, and numerically analyzes shock structures in quantum plasmas.

Findings

Shock strength decreases with quantum tunneling effects.

Shock strength increases with spin alignment effects.

Both oscillatory and monotonic shock structures are observed.

Abstract

The one-dimensional shock structures of magnetosonic waves (MSWs) propagating in a dissipative quantum plasma medium is studied. A quantum magnetohydrodynamic (QMHD) model is used to take into account the quantum force term due to Bohm potential and the pressure-like spin force term for electrons. The nonlinear evolution (Korteweg de-Vries-Burger) equation, derived to describe the dynamics of small amplitude MSWs, where the dissipation is provided by the plasma resistivity, is solved numerically to obtain both oscillatory and monotonic shock structures. The shock strength decreases with increasing the effects of collective tunneling and increases with increasing the effects of spin alignment. The theoretical results could be of importance for astrophysical (e.g., magnetars) as well as for ultracold laboratory plasmas (e.g., Rydberg plasmas).