Primordial magnetic field from chiral plasma instability with sourcing

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Authors: Murman Gurgenidze, Andrew J. Long, Alberto Roper Pol, Axel Brandenburg, Tina Kahniashvili
Cited by: 1
References: 64

Abstract

In an electron-positron plasma, an imbalance in the number of right- and left-chiral particles can lead to the growth of a helical magnetic field through a phenomenon called the chiral plasma instability (CPI). In the early Universe, scattering reactions that violate chirality come into thermal equilibrium when the plasma cools below a temperature of approximately 80 TeV. Since these reactions tend to relax any preexisting chiral asymmetry to zero as the system approaches equilibrium, the standard lore is that primordial magnetogenesis via the CPI is not viable below 80 TeV. In this work, we propose that the presence of a source for chirality can allow the CPI to operate even below 80 TeV, we explore the implications of this scenario, and we derive predictions for the resultant magnetic field helicity using a combination of analytical methods and direct numerical simulation.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena

Publication details

Journal / source
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Volume
114
Issue
2
Publication date
8 June 2026
Language
EN