Neutrino induced vorticity, Alfven waves and the normal modes

TL;DR

This paper explores how asymmetric neutrino backgrounds can induce vorticity and alter Alfvén wave velocities in plasma, with implications for astrophysical phenomena like pulsar kicks.

Contribution

It introduces a new mechanism where neutrino asymmetry induces vorticity and modifies Alfvén wave velocities in plasma, extending magnetohydrodynamics to include neutrino interactions.

Findings

Neutrino asymmetry can induce plasma vorticity without electromagnetic perturbations.

Neutrino background causes Alfvén wave velocities to differ, depending on neutrino asymmetry.

Potential explanation for pulsar kicks via differences in Alfvén velocities in dense astrophysical plasma.

Abstract

We consider plasma consisting of electrons and ions in presence of a background neutrino gas and develop the magneto hydrodynamic equations for the system. We show that electron neutrino interaction can induce vorticity in the plasma even in the absence of any electromagnetic perturbations if the background neutrino density is left-right asymmetric. This induced vorticity support a new kind of Alfv\'en wave whose velocity depends on both the external magnetic field and on the neutrino asymmetry. The normal mode analysis show that in the presence of neutrino background the Alfv\'en waves can have different velocities. We also discuss our results in the context of dense astrophysical plasma such as magnetars and show that the difference in the Alfv\'en velocities can be used to explain the observed pulsar kick. We discuss also the relativistic generalization of electron fluid in presence of asymmetric neutrino background.