Magnetic Fields in an Expanding Universe

We find a solution to 4D Einstein-Maxwell theory coupled to a massless dilaton field describing a Melvin magnetic field in an expanding universe with \u27stiff matter\u27 equation of state parameter w=+1. As the universe expands, magnetic flux becomes more concentrated around the symmetry axis for dilaton coupling a\u3c1/3√ and more dispersed for a\u3e1/3√. An electric field circulates around the symmetry axis in the direction determined by Lenz\u27s law. For a=0 the magnetic flux through a disk of fixed comoving radius is proportional to the proper area of the disk. This result disagrees with the usual expectation based on a test magnetic field that this flux should be constant, and we show why this difference arises. We also find a Melvin solution in an accelerating universe with w=−7/9 for a dilaton field with a certain exponential potential. Our main tools are simple manipulations in 5D Kaluza-Klein theory and related solution generating techniques. We also discuss a number of directions for possible extensions of this work