Spontaneous charge separation in accelerating relativistic plasmas
Phys. Rev. D 112, 084067 – Published 24 October, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/3hky-j4gp
Abstract
The Stewart-Tolman effect posits that accelerating conductors exhibit both charge separation and rest-frame electric fields (“inertia of charge”), while the Ehrenfest-Tolman effect states that acceleration induces temperature gradients (“inertia of heat”). We study the interplay of these effects in thermodynamic equilibrium. Specifically, we derive from first principles a partial differential equation governing the electrothermal stratification of a fully ionized plasma in equilibrium under irrotational relativistic accelerations in curved spacetime. We then solve it in two settings: a plasma enclosed in a uniformly accelerated box, and a plasma shell suspended above a black hole horizon. The resulting electric fields are found not to depend on the electric conductivity of the medium.
