Abstract

Simulations of force-free relativistic MHD

Anatoly Spitkovsky
Stanford University

I discuss the modeling of astrophyical outflows in the limit of high magnetization of the plasma. In this limit the particle inertia is
negligible ("force-free") and the relativistic MHD equations can be reduced to an evolutionary system resembling Maxwell equations with a
source term. I describe the mathematical properties of force-free relativistic MHD, the methods for its simulation, and the limits of
applicability of the approximation, such as formation of current sheets. In particular, the method is applied to simulate the formation of
relativistic winds from magnetized neutron stars (pulsars), and provides the first time-dependent global simulation of pulsar and magnetar
magnetospheres.