Color fields on the light-shell

Howard Georgi,Greg Kestin,Aqil Sajjad

doi:10.1007/jhep02(2016)136

Abstract

We study the classical color radiation from very high energy collisions that produce colored particles. In the extreme high energy limit, the classical color fields are confined to a light-shell expanding at $c$ and are associated with a non-linear $\sigma$-model on the 2D light-shell with specific symmetry breaking terms. We argue that the quantum version of this picture exhibits asymptotic freedom and may be a useful starting point for an effective light-shell theory of the structure between the jets at a very high energy collider.

Highlights

We argue that the quantum version of this picture exhibits asymptotic freedom and may be a useful starting point for an effective light-shell theory of the structure between the jets at a very high energy collider
Those of us who have had the pleasure of learning or teaching from Ed Purcell’s classic book on electricity and magnetism [1] cannot forget the evocative figure in chapter 5 illustrating how a pulse of electromagnetic radiation emerges from a kink in the field of a charge that starts and stops
We suggest that a similar picture may yield a useful starting point for a description of very high energy collisions between hadrons

Summary

Introduction

Those of us who have had the pleasure of learning or teaching from Ed Purcell’s classic book on electricity and magnetism [1] cannot forget the evocative figure in chapter 5 illustrating how a pulse of electromagnetic radiation emerges from a kink in the field of a charge that starts and stops. In the extreme high energy limit, the classical color fields are confined to a light-shell expanding at c and are associated with a non-linear σ-model on the 2D light-shell with specific symmetry breaking terms.

Results

Conclusion