Spin contribution to the ponderomotive force in a plasma

The concept of a ponderomotive force due to the intrinsic spin of electrons is developed. An expression containing both the classical as well as the spin-induced ponderomotive force is derived. The results are used to demonstrate that an electromagnetic pulse can induce a spin-polarized plasma. Furt...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2010-09, Vol.105 (10), p.105004-105004, Article 105004
Main Authors: Brodin, G, Misra, A P, Marklund, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
CURRENTS
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
LEPTONS
MAGNETIZATION
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
ORIENTATION
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
PLASMA
PONDEROMOTIVE FORCE
PULSES
RADIATIONS
SPIN
SPIN ORIENTATION
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The concept of a ponderomotive force due to the intrinsic spin of electrons is developed. An expression containing both the classical as well as the spin-induced ponderomotive force is derived. The results are used to demonstrate that an electromagnetic pulse can induce a spin-polarized plasma. Furthermore, it is shown that, for certain parameters, the nonlinear backreaction on the electromagnetic pulse from the spin magnetization current can be larger than that from the classical free current. Suitable parameter values for a direct test of this effect are presented.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.105.105004