dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaDispersion in a relativistic degenerate electron gas
| Authors | J. McOrist, D. B. Melrose, J. I. Weise |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0603227 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0603227 |
| DOI | 10.1017/S0022377806004806 |
Abstract
Relativistic effects on dispersion in a degenerate electron gas are discussed by comparing known response functions derived relativistically (by Jancovici) and nonrelativistically (by Lindhard). The main distinguishing feature is one-photon pair creation, which leads to logarithmic singularities in the response functions. Dispersion curves for longitudinal waves have a similar tongue-like appearance in the relativistic and nonrelativistic case, with the main relativistic effects being on the Fermi speed and the cutoff frequency. For transverse waves the nonrelativistic treatment has a nonphysical feature near the cutoff frequency for large Fermi momenta, and this is attributed to an incorrect treatment of the electron spin. We find (with two important provisos) that one-photon pair creation is allowed in superdense plasmas, implying relatively strong coupling between transverse waves and pair creation.
{
"annotation_id": "689764cb-20eb-48d2-b7ba-7f03453503b0",
"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:01:07.088000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:01:07.088000Z",
"file_hash": "bf02539cbf56a33ddff1d2ff631bb69c1676e666822a4926b268fd9e5683bc62",
"private": false,
"record": {
"abstract": "Relativistic effects on dispersion in a degenerate electron gas are discussed\nby comparing known response functions derived relativistically (by Jancovici)\nand nonrelativistically (by Lindhard). The main distinguishing feature is\none-photon pair creation, which leads to logarithmic singularities in the\nresponse functions. Dispersion curves for longitudinal waves have a similar\ntongue-like appearance in the relativistic and nonrelativistic case, with the\nmain relativistic effects being on the Fermi speed and the cutoff frequency.\nFor transverse waves the nonrelativistic treatment has a nonphysical feature\nnear the cutoff frequency for large Fermi momenta, and this is attributed to an\nincorrect treatment of the electron spin. We find (with two important provisos)\nthat one-photon pair creation is allowed in superdense plasmas, implying\nrelatively strong coupling between transverse waves and pair creation.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0603227",
"authors": [
"J. McOrist",
"D. B. Melrose",
"J. I. Weise"
],
"categories": [
"physics.plasm-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1017/S0022377806004806",
"title": "Dispersion in a relativistic degenerate electron gas",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0603227"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "0f8cb789-1a5f-47db-bd52-00d7bc126c1d",
"id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
"version": "0.1.0"
},
"user_id": 1000002
}