Spin contribution to the ponderomotive force in a plasma

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework for the spin-induced ponderomotive force in plasmas, showing that electromagnetic pulses can generate spin-polarized states and that spin effects can dominate classical responses under certain conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a combined classical and spin-based ponderomotive force expression and demonstrates the potential for spin effects to significantly influence plasma dynamics.

Findings

Electromagnetic pulses can induce spin polarization in plasma.

Spin magnetization current can have a larger back-reaction than classical currents.

Parameter regimes for experimental testing are identified.

Abstract

The concept of a ponderomotive force due to the intrinsic spin of electrons is developed. An expression containing both the classical as well as the spin-induced ponderomotive force is derived. The results are used to demonstrate that an electromagnetic pulse can induce a spin-polarized plasma. Furthermore, it is shown that for certain parameters, the nonlinear back-reaction on the electromagnetic pulse from the spin magnetization current can be larger than that from the classical free current. Suitable parameter values for a direct test of this effect are presented.