# Emergence of magnetic null points in electro-vacuum magnetospheres of compact objects: The case of a plunging neutron star

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how strong gravity near compact objects like neutron stars and black holes can lead to the formation of magnetic null points in vacuum electromagnetic fields, which are important for magnetic reconnection processes.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that gravitational effects can induce magnetic null points in electro-vacuum fields around plunging neutron stars, extending previous models to astrophysically relevant scenarios.

## Key findings

- Magnetic null points can form in electro-vacuum fields due to strong gravity.
- Null points appear for specific parameter ranges relevant to astrophysical conditions.
- Gravitational effects support magnetic reconnection processes even without plasma presence.

## Abstract

Relativistic effects of compact objects onto electromagnetic fields in their vicinity are investigated using the test-field approximation. In particular, we study the possible emergence of magnetic null points which are astrophysically relevant for the processes of magnetic reconnection. While the magnetic reconnection occurs in the presence of plasma and may lead to violent mass ejection, we show here that strong gravitation of the supermassive black hole may actively support the process by suitably entangling the field lines even in the electro-vacuum description. In this contribution we further discuss the case of a dipole-type magnetic field of the neutron star on the plunging trajectory to the supermassive black hole. While we have previously shown that given model in principle admits the formation of magnetic null points, here we explore whether and where the null points appear for the astrophysically relevant values of the parameters.