Neutrino induced vorticity, Alfvén waves and the normal modes

Abstract

Abstract We consider a plasma consisting of electrons and ions in the presence of a background neutrino gas and develop the magnetohydrodynamic equations for the system. We show that the electron neutrino interaction can induce vorticity in the plasma even in the absence of any electromagnetic perturbations if the background neutrino density is left–right asymmetric. This induced vorticity supports a new kind of Alfvén wave whose velocity depends on both the external magnetic field and on the neutrino asymmetry. The normal mode analysis show that in the presence of neutrino background the Alfvén waves can have different velocities. We also discuss our results in the context of dense astrophysical plasma such as magnetars and show that the difference in the Alfvén velocities can be used to explain the observed pulsar kick. We discuss also the relativistic generalisation of the electron fluid in presence of an asymmetric neutrino background.