Force-Free Electromagnetic Fields within Spinor Framework

Abstract

The article deals with spinor representation of the force-free electrodynamics. The equations of the force-free electromagnetic field describe the physics of pulsars and black holes whose magnetospheres are filled with magnetically dominated relativistic plasma. The paper is a brief pedagogical introduction to the mathematics of the subject, based on 2-spinor calculi. The objective is to present the nonlinear theory of force-free fields in a compact and elegant form that the spinor framework provides. First, the algebraic classification of the Maxwell tensor is presented. Then, the reduced system of differential equations is obtained for two types of electromagnetic field and the basic features of the solutions are described. The null force-free field is connected with the shear-free geodesic null congruence in a space-time and is derived from a linear equation for a complex function. The magnetic force-free field is associated with the time-like 2-surface that represents the world-sheet of magnetic field line. The simplified system includes 4 linear differential equations for a real function. The article is educational in nature and there are no new solutions of force-free equations obtained.