Reconnection of magnetic fields in neutron stars driven by the electron mass term in the triangle anomaly

Maxim Dvornikov,Victor B Semikoz

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1390/1/012079

Abstract

The Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly for massive particles is studied in an external magnetic field. The contributions of the mean spin and the pseudoscalar are accounted for in the quasiclassical approximation. The equation for the evolution of the magnetic helicity with the new quantum corrections is derived. We show that the quantum contribution to the helicity evolution can overcome the classical one in the dense degenerate matter which can be present in the core of a neutron star. The application of the obtained results for the interpretation of magnetar bursts are discussed.

Highlights

In the wake of the formulation of the chiral magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) [1], its applications to the studies of various effects in astrophysics [2], cosmology [3] and accelerator physics [4] are developed
We summarize our recent results [7] on the fermion mass contribution to the Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly, which is known to be closely related to the chiral magnetic effect (the CME) [8]
We are interested in the ultrarelativistic degenerate plasma, which can be encountered in the core of a neutron star (NS)

Summary

Introduction

In the wake of the formulation of the chiral magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) [1], its applications to the studies of various effects in astrophysics [2], cosmology [3] and accelerator physics [4] are developed. We derive the evolution equation for the magnetic helicity, which accounts for the new quantum corrections. In the situation, when the chiral imbalance is washed out, e.g., because of interparticle collisions, we compare the classical and quantum surface terms in the magnetic helicity evolution.

Results

Conclusion