Chiral anomalous processes in magnetospheres of pulsars and black holes

TL;DR

This paper explores how chiral asymmetries in plasma within pulsar and black hole magnetospheres can lead to observable electromagnetic phenomena, especially in magnetars, through instabilities that generate polarized radiation.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that chiral plasma instabilities in magnetar magnetospheres can produce observable polarized radiation, a novel mechanism linking chiral physics to astrophysical signals.

Findings

Chiral asymmetry is significant in magnetar magnetospheres.

Chiral plasma instability can generate circularly polarized radiation.

Potential impact on understanding features of fast radio bursts.

Abstract

We propose that chirally asymmetric plasma can be produced in the gap regions of the magnetospheres of pulsars and black holes. We show that, in the case of supermassive black holes situated in active galactic nuclei, the chiral charge density and the chiral chemical potential are very small and unlikely to have any observable effects. In contrast, the chiral asymmetry produced in the magnetospheres of magnetars can be substantial. It can trigger the chiral plasma instability that, in turn, can lead to observable phenomena in magnetars. In particular, the instability should trigger circularly polarized electromagnetic radiation in a wide window of frequencies, spanning from radio to near-infrared. As such, the produced chiral charge has the potential to affect some features of fast radio bursts.