Radiation-induced electron spin polarization in ultrarelativistic kinetic turbulence
Abstract
Electron spin polarization in radiative plasmas with ultrarelativistic kinetic turbulence under highly magnetized conditions is investigated using particle-in-cell simulations. We observe that a significant spin polarization can be sustained when the leptons undergo energetic photon emission accompanied by spin flips during the nonequilibrium turbulent evolution. By analyzing the time evolution of spatially dependent spin polarization, we identify an electromagnetic (EM) regime of kinetic turbulence, distinct from the well-known density-dominated regime characterized by vortex currents and magnetic islands. While in the latter regime the spin polarization exists only transiently, in the EM regime significant anisotropic net polarization emerges and persists in non-dissipative scenarios. The correlation between spin signals and turbulence features is leveraged to introduce the characteristic parameter delimiting the EM regime via the ratio of electric and magnetic energy densities and to gain insight into complex plasma turbulence. This study demonstrates the versatility of a spin-resolved study of the plasma turbulence in extreme environments, such as black holes and magnetar magnetospheres.
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BibTeX
@misc{liu2026radiationinduced,
title = {{Radiation-induced electron spin polarization in ultrarelativistic kinetic turbulence}},
author = {Peng Liu and Karen Z. Hatsagortsyan and Christoph H. Keitel and Zheng Gong},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.04332},
eprint = {2606.04332},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.04332},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Radiation-induced electron spin polarization in ultrarelativistic kinetic turbulence
AU - Peng Liu
AU - Karen Z. Hatsagortsyan
AU - Christoph H. Keitel
AU - Zheng Gong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/27
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.04332
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.04332
AB - Electron spin polarization in radiative plasmas with ultrarelativistic kinetic turbulence under highly magnetized conditions is investigated using particle-in-cell simulations. We observe that a significant spin polarization can be sustained when the leptons undergo energetic photon emission accompanied by spin flips during the nonequilibrium turbulent evolution. By analyzing the time evolution of spatially dependent spin polarization, we identify an electromagnetic (EM) regime of kinetic turbulence, distinct from the well-known density-dominated regime characterized by vortex currents and magnetic islands. While in the latter regime the spin polarization exists only transiently, in the EM regime significant anisotropic net polarization emerges and persists in non-dissipative scenarios. The correlation between spin signals and turbulence features is leveraged to introduce the characteristic parameter delimiting the EM regime via the ratio of electric and magnetic energy densities and to gain insight into complex plasma turbulence. This study demonstrates the versatility of a spin-resolved study of the plasma turbulence in extreme environments, such as black holes and magnetar magnetospheres.
ER -