Thermal QCD in a non-uniform magnetic background

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Brandt, B. B., Cuteri, F., Endrődi, G., Markó, G., Sandbote, L., Valois, A. D. M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Brandt, B. B.
Cuteri, F.
Endrődi, G.
Markó, G.
Sandbote, L.
Valois, A. D. M.
author_facet Brandt, B. B.
Cuteri, F.
Endrődi, G.
Markó, G.
Sandbote, L.
Valois, A. D. M.
contents Off-central heavy-ion collisions are known to feature magnetic fields with magnitudes and characteristic gradients corresponding to the scale of the strong interactions. In this work, we employ equilibrium lattice simulations of the underlying theory, QCD, involving similar inhomogeneous magnetic field profiles to achieve a better understanding of this system. We simulate three flavors of dynamical staggered quarks with physical masses at a range of magnetic fields and temperatures, and extrapolate the results to the continuum limit. Analyzing the impact of the field on the quark condensate and the Polyakov loop, we find non-trivial spatial features that render the QCD medium qualitatively different as in the homogeneous setup, especially at temperatures around the transition. In addition, we construct leading-order chiral perturbation theory for the inhomogeneous background and compare its prediction to our lattice results at low temperature. Our findings will be useful to benchmark effective theories and low-energy models of QCD for a better description of peripheral heavy-ion collisions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2305_19029
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Thermal QCD in a non-uniform magnetic background
Brandt, B. B.
Cuteri, F.
Endrődi, G.
Markó, G.
Sandbote, L.
Valois, A. D. M.
High Energy Physics - Lattice
High Energy Physics - Experiment
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Off-central heavy-ion collisions are known to feature magnetic fields with magnitudes and characteristic gradients corresponding to the scale of the strong interactions. In this work, we employ equilibrium lattice simulations of the underlying theory, QCD, involving similar inhomogeneous magnetic field profiles to achieve a better understanding of this system. We simulate three flavors of dynamical staggered quarks with physical masses at a range of magnetic fields and temperatures, and extrapolate the results to the continuum limit. Analyzing the impact of the field on the quark condensate and the Polyakov loop, we find non-trivial spatial features that render the QCD medium qualitatively different as in the homogeneous setup, especially at temperatures around the transition. In addition, we construct leading-order chiral perturbation theory for the inhomogeneous background and compare its prediction to our lattice results at low temperature. Our findings will be useful to benchmark effective theories and low-energy models of QCD for a better description of peripheral heavy-ion collisions.
title Thermal QCD in a non-uniform magnetic background
topic High Energy Physics - Lattice
High Energy Physics - Experiment
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.19029