Magnetic flux loop in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

Feb 8, 2013
5 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.D 88 (2013) 5, 054016
  • Published: Sep 17, 2013
e-Print:
Report number:
  • RBRC-1008

Citations per year

201320142015201620175421
Abstract: (APS)
We consider the expectation value of a chromomagnetic flux loop in the immediate forward light cone of collisions of heavy nuclei at high energies. Such collisions are characterized by a nonlinear scale Qs where color fields become strong. We find that loops of area greater than ∼1.5/Qs2 exhibit area-law behavior, which determines the scale of elementary flux excitations (“vortices”). We also estimate the magnetic string tension, σM≃0.12Qs2. By the time t∼1/Qs even small loops satisfy area-law scaling. We describe corrections to the propagator of semihard particles at very early times in the background of fluctuating magnetic fields.
Note:
  • 4 pages, 5 figures; v2: added plot of Z(N) part of loop in fig.1; v3: added magnetic loop for asymmetric projectile/target saturation momenta, estimate of vortex density, and an appendix; v4: corrected outline of perturbative calculation of Wilson loop; to appear in PRD
  • 13.85.-t
  • 25.75.-q
  • 24.85.+p
  • flux: chromomagnetic
  • magnetic field: fluctuation
  • background
  • heavy ion: scattering
  • string tension
  • light cone
  • gluon: propagator
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