Anomalous chirality fluctuations in the initial stage of heavy ion collisions and parity odd bubbles

2001/09/26 by Dmitri E. Kharzeev, D. Kharzeev, A. Krasnitz +2 · 11 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Charge (physics) #Charge density #Collision #Distribution (mathematics) #Heavy ion #High-Energy Particle Collisions Research #Ion #Large Hadron Collider #Nuclear physics #Parity (physics) #Particle physics #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Physics #Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions #Quantum electrodynamics #Quantum mechanics #Topological quantum number #Topology (electrical circuits) #hep-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/s0370-2693(02)02630-8

published as Phys.Lett. B545 (2002) 298-306 · 15 pages, 2 figures, 1 table

arxiv created 2001/09/26 · openalex publication_date 2002/10/01 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

We compute numerically the topological charge distribution in the initial stage of a high energy heavy ion collision. This charge distribution is generated by Chern-Simons number fluctuations associated with the dynamics of strong classical fields in the initial state. The distribution is found to be quite narrow at RHIC and LHC energies reflecting a small value of the topological susceptibility. Thus the effective potential of classical fields is shallow in the θ-direction likely creating favorable conditions for the subsequent generation of P-odd bubbles.

Citations

• Global aspects of current algebra
• Non-Abelian Weizsäcker-Williams field and a two-dimensional effective color charge density for a very large nucleus
• The BFKL equation from the Wilson renormalization group
• Observing spontaneous strong parity violation in heavy-ion collisions
• Parity Conservation in Quantum Chromodynamics
• Yang-Mills radiation in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions

Cited by

• Linearly polarized gluons and axial charge fluctuations in the glasma
• Relaxation times for chiral transport phenomena and spin polarization in a strongly coupled plasma
• Investigation of Experimental Observables in Search of the Chiral Magnetic Effect in Heavy-ion Collisions in the STAR experiment
• Dynamics of the chiral magnetic effect in a weak magnetic field
• Topological charge fluctuations in the Glasma
• Glasma flux tubes and the near side ridge phenomenon at RHIC
• From glasma to quark–gluon plasma in heavy-ion collisions
• Spatial Wilson loops in the classical field of high-energy heavy-ion collisions
• Implications of \cal C\cal P -violating transitions in hot quark matter on heavy-ion collisions
• Charge fluctuations from the chiral magnetic effect in nuclear collisions
• Towards a quantum theory of the chiral magnetic effect