Catastrophic Formation of Macro-Scale Flow and Magnetic Fields in the Relativistic Gas of Binary Systems

TL;DR

This paper explains how catastrophic energy transformations in binary astrophysical systems can lead to the formation of macro-scale flow and magnetic fields through a quasi-equilibrium plasma analysis, especially in white dwarf systems.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical framework for understanding sudden energy state changes in relativistic multi-component plasmas in binary systems.

Findings

Conditions for catastrophic energy transformations are derived.

Strong macro-scale magnetic fields can be generated during these catastrophes.

Flow kinetic energy is primarily carried by hot electrons.

Abstract

It is shown that a simple quasi-equilibrium analysis of a multi-component plasma can be harnessed to explain catastrophic energy transformations in astrophysical objects. We limit ourselves to the particular class of binary systems for which the typical plasma consists of one classical ion component, and two relativistic electron components - the bulk degenerate electron gas with a small contamination of hot electrons. We derive, analytically, the conditions conducive to such a catastrophic change. The pathway to such sudden changes is created by the slow changes in the initial parameters so that the governing equilibrium state can no longer be sustained and the system must find a new equilibrium that could have vastly different energy mix - of thermal, flow-kinetic and magnetic energies. In one such scenario, macro-scale flow kinetic, and magnetic energies abound in the final state. For the given multi-component plasma, we show that the flow (strongly Super-Alfv\'enic) kinetic energy is mostly carried by the small hot electron component. Under specific conditions, it is possible to generate strong macro-scale magnetic (velocity) field when all of the flow (magnetic) field energy is converted to the magnetic (velocity) field energy at the catastrophe. The analysis is applied to explain various observed characteristics of white dwarf (WD) systems, in particular, of the magnetic and dense/degenerate type.