Strong-Field Electrodynamics

Abstract

Strong-Field Electrodynamics (SFE) is Maxwell theory with a certain Lorentz-covariant Ohm's law which uses only the electromagnetic degrees of freedom. We show that SFE is {\it semi-dissipative}: while the dissipation rate of the electromagnetic energy is non-negative, it can be exactly zero for non-trivial electromagnetic fields. It appears that SFE is well-defined for arbitrary electromagnetic fields. It should be possible to calculate the dissipative pulsar magnetosphere and resolve the magnetic separatrix using SFE. We show that SFE reduces to Force-Free Electrodynamics (FFE) in the large conductivity limit. In the regions where the ideal FFE 4-current is space-like, SFE predicts small dissipative corrections. In the regions where the ideal FFE 4-current is time-like, SFE predicts a zero correction. This indicates that bright pulsars radiate primarily from the magnetic separatrix.