Jets from paramagnetic electrons in superstrong fields

The assumption that electrons retain their observed anomalous magnetic moment in arbitrarily strong background fields leads to their effective masslessness at a critical field strength of several times 10¹⁶ G. We show that this also gives near-critical fields the ability to efficiently transform many forms of energy into tightly collimated beams consisting of electrons, positrons, and photons which are ejected at relativistic speeds along the field lines, equally in both directions. This suggests a model of astrophysical jets as a magnetically catalyzed means of energy extraction from compact sources. The expected properties of the beams qualitatively agree with those of observed jets, and the central engine has a simple and compelling magnetic field geometry, in contrast to the popular Blandford-Znajek jet model.