Effective potential energy for relativistic particles in the field of inclined rotating magnetized sphere

Abstract

The dynamics of a charged relativistic particle in electromagnetic field of a rotating magnetized celestial body with the magnetic axis inclined to the axis of rotation is studied. The covariant Lagrangian function in the rotating reference frame is found. Effective potential energy is defined on the base of the first integral of motion. The structure of the equipotential surfaces for a relativistic charged particle is studied and depicted for different values of the dipole moment. It is shown that there are trapping regions for the particles of definite energies.