Generation of magnetic fields by the ponderomotive force of electromagnetic waves in dense plasmas

Abstract

AbstractWe show that the non-stationary ponderomotive force of a large-amplitude electromagnetic wave in a very dense quantum plasma with streaming degenerate electrons can spontaneously create d.c. magnetic fields. The present result can account for the seed magnetic fields in compact astrophysical objects and in the next-generation intense laser–solid density plasma interaction experiments.