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Main Authors: Ribeiro, Filipe S., Silva, Pedro D. S., Casana, Rodolfo, Ferreira Jr, Manoel M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.15879
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author Ribeiro, Filipe S.
Silva, Pedro D. S.
Casana, Rodolfo
Ferreira Jr, Manoel M.
author_facet Ribeiro, Filipe S.
Silva, Pedro D. S.
Casana, Rodolfo
Ferreira Jr, Manoel M.
contents In this work, we study the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a magnetized chiral plasma that pervades the interstellar space. The Maxwell equations, supplemented by bi-isotropic-like constitutive relations, are rewritten to describe a cold, uniform, and collisionless plasma model that yields new collective electromagnetic modes for distinct pairs of refractive indices associated with right- and left-handed circularly polarized waves. We have investigated the optical behavior through the rotatory power (RP) and dichroism coefficient, reporting that the finite chiral parameter induces double RP sign reversal, an exotic optical signature that takes place in chiral dielectrics and rotating plasmas. In the low-frequency regime, a modified propagating helicon with right-handed circular polarization is obtained. Next, supposing that the interstellar medium behaves as a chiral bi-isotropic-like cold plasma, we employ Astrophysical data of radio pulsars to achieve upper limits on the magnetoelectric parameters magnitude. In particular, by using dispersion measure and rotation measure data from five pulsars, we constrain the magnitude of the chiral parameter to the order of $10^{-16}$ and $10^{-22}$, respectively.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_15879
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hypothesis of a bi-isotropic-like plasma permeating the interstellar space
Ribeiro, Filipe S.
Silva, Pedro D. S.
Casana, Rodolfo
Ferreira Jr, Manoel M.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Plasma Physics
In this work, we study the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a magnetized chiral plasma that pervades the interstellar space. The Maxwell equations, supplemented by bi-isotropic-like constitutive relations, are rewritten to describe a cold, uniform, and collisionless plasma model that yields new collective electromagnetic modes for distinct pairs of refractive indices associated with right- and left-handed circularly polarized waves. We have investigated the optical behavior through the rotatory power (RP) and dichroism coefficient, reporting that the finite chiral parameter induces double RP sign reversal, an exotic optical signature that takes place in chiral dielectrics and rotating plasmas. In the low-frequency regime, a modified propagating helicon with right-handed circular polarization is obtained. Next, supposing that the interstellar medium behaves as a chiral bi-isotropic-like cold plasma, we employ Astrophysical data of radio pulsars to achieve upper limits on the magnetoelectric parameters magnitude. In particular, by using dispersion measure and rotation measure data from five pulsars, we constrain the magnitude of the chiral parameter to the order of $10^{-16}$ and $10^{-22}$, respectively.
title Hypothesis of a bi-isotropic-like plasma permeating the interstellar space
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.15879