Paramagnetic squeezing of QCD matter

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• High-Energy Physics
• Quantum Chromodynamics

Background:

• The transition between hadronic and quark-gluon plasma phases is crucial for understanding strongly interacting matter.
• The behavior of matter under extreme temperatures and magnetic fields is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the magnetization of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) at temperatures around and above the phase transition.
• To investigate the influence of this magnetization on the properties of quark-gluon plasma in heavy ion collisions.

Main Methods:

• Calculated QCD magnetization across various temperatures.
• Theoretically analyzed the effect of paramagnetism on quark-gluon plasma geometry.
• Estimated the contribution of paramagnetism to elliptic flow (v2).

Main Results:

• A paramagnetic response was observed, strengthening with increasing temperature.
• Paramagnetism is predicted to squeeze quark-gluon plasma perpendicular to magnetic fields.
• This squeezing effect contributes to the observed elliptic flow (v2).

Conclusions:

• The paramagnetic effect in QCD is significant and temperature-dependent.
• This effect offers a new explanation for elliptic flow (v2) in noncentral heavy ion collisions.
• Paramagnetism may play a crucial role in the dynamics of quark-gluon plasma.