PHYSICS COLLOQUIUM

Dr. Swadesh Mahajan, Institute for Fusion Studies, UT-Austin

"Cosmic Magnetic Fields - A new 'Origin Myth'"

4:15pm, The John A. Wheeler Lecture Hall (RLM 4.102)

Coffee and cookies will be served just before the colloquium in RLM 4.102.

Abstract:

Magnetic fields are ubiquitous; they are found to be important in every scale hierarchy of the universe. Constructing a theory of the origin of magnetic fields (or any kind of generalized vorticity- structurally similar to a magnetic field) is one of the challenging unsolved problems of theoretical physics. The genesis of the origin problem lies in the existence of a topological conservation law that forbids, in an ideal non-relativistic dynamics, the emergence of generalized vorticity/magnetic field from a zero value. It is shown that a purely ideal mechanism, originating in the space-time distortion caused by the demands of special/general relativity, can break the topological constraint allowing generation of generalized vorticity/magnetic field. An Origin theory for cosmic fields is woven around this mechanism.