Creation of neutral fermions with anomalous magnetic moments from a vacuum by inhomogeneous magnetic field

TL;DR

This paper develops a nonperturbative quantum field theory approach to neutral fermion creation via inhomogeneous magnetic fields, revealing dependencies on magnetic field gradients and implications for astrophysics and dark matter research.

Contribution

It introduces a consistent method for describing neutral fermion creation with magnetic moments in inhomogeneous fields, linking to the Schwinger effect, and explores astrophysical implications.

Findings

Creation depends only on magnetic field gradient, not strength

Neutral fermion fluxes are symmetric and aligned with the magnetic field

Field smoothing prevents superstrong magnetic field formation

Abstract

A consistent nonperturbative approach (based on QFT) to neutral fermion creation (due to their magnetic moments) in strong inhomogeneous magnetic fields is considered. It is demonstrated that quantization in terms of neutral particles and antiparticles is possible in terms of the states with well-defined spin polarization. Such states are localizable and can form wave packets in a given asymptotic region. In this case, the problem can be technically reduced to the problem of charged-particle creation by an electric step. In particular, the relation to the Schwinger method of an effective action is established. As an example, we calculate neutral fermion creation from the vacuum by a linearly growing magnetic field. We show that the total number and the vacuum-to-vacuum transition probability of created pairs depend only on the gradient of the magnetic field, but not on its strength, and this fact does not depend on the spacetime dimension. We show that the created flux aimed in one of the directions is formed from fluxes of particles and antiparticles of equal intensity and with the same magnetic moments parallel to the external field. In such a flux, particle and antiparticle velocities that are perpendicular to the plane of the magnetic moment and flux direction are essentially depressed. The creation of neutral fermions with anomalous magnetic moments leads to a smoothing of the initial magnetic field, which in turn prevents appearance of superstrong constant magnetic fields. Our estimations show that the vacuum instability with respect to the creation of neutrinos and even neutrons in strong magnetic fields of the magnetars and fields generated during a supernova explosion has to be taken into account in the astrophysics. In particular, it may be of significance for dark matter studies.