The Melvin universe in Born-Infeld theory and other theories of nonlinear electrodynamics

Jan, 2001
15 pages
Published in:
  • Class.Quant.Grav. 18 (2001) 1677-1690
e-Print:
Report number:
  • DAMTP-2000-9

Citations per year

Loading ...
Abstract:
We derive a Melvin Universe type solution describing a magnetic field permeating the whole Universe in gravity minimally coupled to any non-linear electromagnetic theory, including Born-Infeld Theory. For a large set of non-linear electrodynamics theories, our solution is complete and non-singular, as long as the magnetic field is sub-critical. We examine some properties of the solution; in particular there is a shift of the symmetry axis and a non-standard period along the orbits of the U(1) symmetry to avoid a conical singularity. We show these are consistent with the usual Dirac quantization condition for the magnetic flux. We find exact solutions describing propagation of waves in the `generalized Melvin Universe' along the principal null directions of the electromagnetic field, where the Boillat and Einstein light-cone touch. By electric-magnetic duality we show that similar Melvin electric and dyonic universes can be obtained.
  • Born-Infeld model
  • cosmological model
  • magnetic field
  • dyon
  • duality: electromagnetic
  • electromagnetic field: nonlinear
  • supersymmetry
  • flux: magnetic
  • quantization: Dirac
Loading ...