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What constraints keep relativistic magnetohydrodynamics causally consistent?

Yiwei Qiu, Duan She, Defu Hou

May 30, 2026

Relativistic magnetohydrodynamics—essential for modeling extreme objects like black holes and neutron stars—can violate causality if not carefully constructed. By analyzing wave modes in magnetized plasma, the authors identified fundamental constraints that any physical theory must satisfy to avoid faster-than-light propagation, finding that these limits depend on relaxation times and directional properties of dissipation.
Published as Linear causality and stability constraints on relativistic second-order magnetohydrodynamics arXiv:2606.00649
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