Momentum Anisotropy Research Articles

Yoctosecond Metrology Through Hanbury Brown–Twiss Correlations from a Quark-Gluon Plasma

Expansion dynamics at the yoctosecond time scale affect the evolution of the quark gluon plasma (QGP) created in heavy ion collisions. We show how these dynamics are accessible through Hanbury Brown-Twiss (HBT) intensity interferometry of direct photons emitted from the interior of the QGP. A detector placed close to the beam axis is particularly sensitive to early polar momentum anisotropies of the QGP. Observing a modification of the HBT signal at the proposed FoCal detector of the LHC ALICE experiment would allow us to measure the isotropization time of the plasma and could provide first experimental evidence for photon double pulses at the yoctosecond time scale.

ANALYZING FLOW ANISOTROPIES WITH EXCURSION SETS IN RELATIVISTIC HEAVY-ION COLLISIONS

We show that flow anisotropies in relativistic heavy-ion collisions can be analyzed using a certain technique of shape analysis of excursion sets recently proposed by us for CMBR fluctuations to investigate anisotropic expansion history of the universe. The technique analyzes shapes (sizes) of patches above (below) certain threshold value for transverse energy/particle number (the excursion sets) as a function of the azimuthal angle and rapidity. Modeling flow by imparting extra anisotropic momentum to the momentum distribution of particles from HIJING, we compare the resulting distributions for excursion sets at two different azimuthal angles. Angles with maximum difference in the two distributions identify the event plane, and the magnitude of difference in the two distributions relates to the magnitude of momentum anisotropy, i.e. elliptic flow.

Flux transport dynamo coupled with a fast tachocline scenario

AbstractThe tachocline is important in the solar dynamo for the generation and the storage of the magnetic fields. A most plausible explanation for the confinement of the tachocline is given by the fast tachocline model in which the tachocline is confined by the anisotropic momentum transfer by the Maxwell stress of the dynamo generated magnetic fields. We employ a flux transport dynamo model coupled with the simple feedback formula of this fast tachocline model which basically relates the thickness of the tachocline to the Maxwell stress. We find that this nonlinear coupling not only produces a stable solar-like dynamo solution but also a significant latitudinal variation in the tachocline thickness which is in agreement with the observations.

Probing strongly coupled anisotropic plasma

We calculate the static potential, the drag force and the jet quenching parameter in strongly coupled anisotropic N=4 super Yang-Mills plasma. We find that the jet quenching is in general enhanced in presence of anisotropy compared to the isotropic case and that its value depends strongly on the direction of the moving quark and the direction along which the momentum broadening occurs. The jet quenching is strongly enhanced for a quark moving along the anisotropic direction and momentum broadening happens along the transverse one. The parameter gets lower for a quark moving along the transverse direction and the momentum broadening considered along the anisotropic one. Finally, a weaker enhancement is observed when the quark moves in the transverse plane and the broadening occurs on the same plane. The drag force for quark motion parallel to the anisotropy is always enhanced. For motion in the transverse space the drag force is enhanced compared to the isotropic case only for quarks having velocity above a critical value. Below this critical value the force is decreased. Moreover, the drag force along the anisotropic direction is always stronger than the force in the transverse space. The diffusion time follows exactly the inverse relations of the drag forces. The static potential is decreased and stronger decrease observed for quark-antiquark pair aligned along the anisotropic direction than the transverse one. We finally comment on our results and elaborate on their similarities and differences with the weakly coupled plasmas.

Counting hot/cold spots in quark-gluon plasma

We study how local fluctuations in the initial states of relativistic heavy-ion collisions manifest in the correlations between different orders of harmonic moments of the density profiles, particularly those involving only odd harmonics that arise purely from initial-state fluctuations. We find the strengths of those correlations are sensitive to the number of hot and cold spots in the initial states. Hydrodynamic evolution of the fireball translates initial-state geometric anisotropies as well as their correlations into final-state momentum anisotropies and correlations. We conclude that the measurement of the correlations between different harmonic moments of final-state azimuthal distribution can be employed to quantify the inhomogeneity of the initial density profiles such as the population of hot and cold spots that are produced in high-energy nuclear collisions.

Initial-state anisotropies and their uncertainties in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions from the Monte Carlo Glauber model

In hydrodynamical modeling of heavy-ion collisions, the initial-state spatial anisotropies are translated into momentum anisotropies of the final-state particle distributions. Thus, understanding the origin of the initial-state anisotropies and their uncertainties is important before extracting specific QCD matter properties, such as viscosity, from the experimental data. In this work we review the wounded nucleon approach based on the Monte Carlo Glauber model, charting in particular the uncertainties arising from modeling of the nucleon-nucleon interactions between the colliding nucleon pairs and nucleon-nucleon correlations inside the colliding nuclei. We discuss the differences between the black disk model and a probabilistic profile function approach for the inelastic nucleon-nucleon interactions, and investigate the influence of initial-state correlations using state-of-the-art modeling of these.

2 + 1 dimensional hydrodynamics including bulk viscosity: A systematic study

We have studied the effect of nonzero bulk viscosity with peak near the lattice QCD predicted crossover temperature $T_{co}\sim 175 MeV$ on charged particle transverse momentum spectra and elliptic flow. The Israel-Stewart theory of 2nd order causal dissipative relativistic fluid dynamics is used to simulate the space time evolution of the matter formed in Au-Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 GeV assuming longitudinal boost invariance. A systematic comparison of temperature, transverse velocity, spatial and momentum anisotropy evolution of the ideal, bulk and shear viscous fluid has been carried out. Two different temperature dependent forms of $\zeta/s$ and a constant $\eta/s$ was used. Both the bulk and shear viscous correction to the ideal freezeout distribution function are included. The dissipative correction to the freezeout distribution for bulk viscosity was calculated using Grad's fourteen moment method. From our simulation we show that the method is applicable only for $\zeta/s < 0.005\times\eta/s|_{KSS}$ for freezeout temperatures 130 and 160 MeV.

Hadronic Transport Effects on Elliptic Flow

Elliptic flow υ2 is considered as a probe to study partonic collectivity, and the measurement υ2/ε can be used to describe the hydro behavior of the colliding system. We study the the effect of the hadronic process on the momentum anisotropy parameter υ2 in a multiphase transport model. It is found that hadronic rescattering will depress the υ2 signal built up at the partonic phase. A similar mass hierarchy is observed in the model as in the experiment at RHIC. We find that different particle species will approach the same ideal hydro limit if the hadronic process is excluded.

Photons at the RHIC: the role of viscosity and of initial state fluctuations

We study real photons produced in heavy-ion collisions at the RHIC, and we calculate their spectrum and its azimuthal momentum anisotropy. The photons from a variety of sources are included, and the interplay and the time evolution of those sources are modelled in a full 3D hydrodynamic simulation. We quantify the v2 of thermal photons produced in ideal and viscous fluids, and the consequences of using different initial conditions are explored.

Flow characteristics and strangeness production in the framework of highly-anisotropic and strongly-dissipative hydrodynamics

The recently formulated model of highly-anisotropic and strongly dissipative hydrodynamics is used in 3+1 dimensions to describe flow characteristics and strangeness production in Au+Au collisions at the highest RHIC beam energy. Our results show very weak dependence on the initial momentum anisotropy, provided the anisotropic phase lasts no longer than 1 fm/c.

Nuclear modification factor in an anisotropic quark-gluon plasma

We calculate the nuclear modification factor (${R}_{AA}$) of light hadrons by taking into account the initial state momentum anisotropy of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) expected to be formed in relativistic heavy ion collisions. Such an anisotropy can result from the initial rapid longitudinal expansion of the matter. A phenomenological model for the space-time evolution of the anisotropic QGP is used to obtain the time dependence of the anisotropy parameter $\ensuremath{\xi}$ and the hard momentum scale, ${p}_{\mathrm{hard}}$. The result is then compared with the PHENIX experimental data to constrain the isotropization time scale, ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{\mathrm{iso}}$ for fixed initial conditions (FIC). It is shown that the extracted value of ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{\mathrm{iso}}$ lies in the range $0.5\ensuremath{\leqslant}{\ensuremath{\tau}}_{\mathrm{iso}}\ensuremath{\leqslant}1.5$. However, using a fixed final multiplicity (FFM) condition does not lead to any firm conclusion about the extraction of the isotropization time. The present calculation is also extended to contrast with the recent measurement of nuclear modification factor by the ALICE collaboration at $\sqrt{s}=2.76$ TeV. It is argued that in the present approach, the extraction of ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{\mathrm{iso}}$ at this energy is uncertain and, therefore, refinement of the model is necessary. The sensitivity of the results on the initial conditions has been discussed. We also present the nuclear modification factor at Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies with $\sqrt{s}=5.5$ TeV.

Neutron scattering studies of spin excitations in hole-doped Ba(0.67)K(0.33)Fe(2)As(2) superconductor.

We report inelastic neutron scattering experiments on single crystals of superconducting Ba0.67K0.33Fe2As2 (Tc = 38 K). In addition to confirming the resonance previously found in powder samples, we find that spin excitations in the normal state form longitudinally elongated ellipses along the QAFM direction in momentum space, consistent with density functional theory predictions. On cooling below Tc, while the resonance preserves its momentum anisotropy as expected, spin excitations at energies below the resonance become essentially isotropic in the in-plane momentum space and dramatically increase their correlation length. These results suggest that the superconducting gap structures in Ba0.67Ka0.33Fe2As2 are more complicated than those suggested from angle resolved photoemission experiments.

Event-by-event shape and flow fluctuations of relativistic heavy-ion collision fireballs

Heavy-ion collisions create deformed quark-gluon plasma (QGP) fireballs which explode anisotropically. The viscosity of the fireball matter determines its ability to convert the initial spatial deformation into momentum anisotropies that can be measured in the final hadron spectra. A quantitatively precise empirical extraction of the QGP viscosity thus requires a good understanding of the initial fireball deformation. This deformation fluctuates from event to event, and so does the finally observed momentum anisotropy. We present a harmonic decomposition of the initial fluctuations in shape and orientation of the fireball and perform event-by-event ideal fluid dynamical simulations to extract the resulting fluctuations in the magnitude and direction of the corresponding harmonic components of the final anisotropic flow at midrapidity. The final harmonic flow coefficients are found to depend non-linearly on the initial harmonic eccentricity coefficients. We show that, on average, initial density fluctuations suppress the buildup of elliptic flow relative to what one obtains from a smooth initial profile of the same eccentricity, and discuss implications for the phenomenological extraction of the QGP shear viscosity from experimental elliptic flow data.

Anomalous linear photogalvanic effect observed in a GaN-based two-dimensional electron gas

An anomalous linear photogalvanic effect (LPGE) in ${\text{Al}}_{x}{\text{Ga}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\text{N}/\text{GaN}$ heterostructures under infrared irradiation has been observed. This effect exhibits a similar dependence as the ordinary LPGE on the laser polarization state but is closely related to the inhomogeneity of the laser intensity. This effect is believed to originate from the optical momentum alignment effect and a microscopic model has been developed based on that. This anomalous LPGE provides a sensitive way for the detection of photoinduced momentum anisotropy in semiconductors.

Dynamical stability of a thermally stratified intracluster medium with anisotropic momentum and heat transport

In weakly-collisional plasmas such as the intracluster medium (ICM), heat and momentum transport become anisotropic with respect to the local magnetic field direction. Anisotropic heat conduction causes the slow magnetosonic wave to become buoyantly unstable to the magnetothermal instability (MTI) when the temperature increases in the direction of gravity and to the heat-flux--driven buoyancy instability (HBI) when the temperature decreases in the direction of gravity. The local changes in magnetic field strength that attend these instabilities cause pressure anisotropies that viscously damp motions parallel to the magnetic field. In this paper we employ a linear stability analysis to elucidate the effects of anisotropic viscosity (i.e. Braginskii pressure anisotropy) on the MTI and HBI. By stifling the convergence/divergence of magnetic field lines, pressure anisotropy significantly affects how the ICM interacts with the temperature gradient. Instabilities which depend upon the convergence/divergence of magnetic field lines to generate unstable buoyant motions (the HBI) are suppressed over much of the wavenumber space, whereas those which are otherwise impeded by field-line convergence/divergence (the MTI) are strengthened. As a result, the wavenumbers at which the HBI survives largely unsuppressed in the ICM have parallel components too small to rigorously be considered local. This is particularly true as the magnetic field becomes more and more orthogonal to the temperature gradient. In contrast, the fastest-growing MTI modes are unaffected by anisotropic viscosity. However, we find that anisotropic viscosity couples slow and Alfven waves in such a way as to buoyantly destabilise Alfvenic fluctuations when the temperature increases in the direction of gravity. Consequently, many wavenumbers previously considered MTI-stable or slow-growing are in fact maximally unstable. (abridged)

Mismatch and misalignment: dark haloes and satellites of disc galaxies

(Abridged) We study the phase-space distribution of satellite galaxies associated with late-type galaxies in the GIMIC suite of simulations. GIMIC consists of re-simulations of 5 cosmologically representative regions from the Millennium simulation, which have higher resolution and incorporate baryonic physics. Whilst the disc of the galaxy is well aligned with the inner regions (r ~ 0.1r_200) of the dark matter halo, both in shape and angular momentum, there can be substantial misalignments at larger radii (r ~ r_200). Misalignments of > 45 deg are seen in ~ 30% of our sample. We find that the satellite population aligns with the shape (and angular momentum) of the outer dark matter halo. However, the alignment with the galaxy is weak owing to the mismatch between the disc and dark matter halo. Roughly 20% of the satellite systems with ten bright galaxies within r_200 exhibit a polar spatial alignment with respect to the galaxy --- an orientation reminiscent of the classical satellites of the Milky Way. We find that a small fraction (~10%) of satellite systems show evidence for rotational support which we attribute to group infall. There is a bias towards satellites on prograde orbits relative to the spin of the dark matter halo (and to a lesser extent with the angular momentum of the disc). This preference towards co-rotation is stronger in the inner regions of the halo where the most massive satellites accreted at relatively early times are located. We attribute the anisotropic spatial distribution and angular momentum bias of the satellites at z=0 to their directional accretion along the major axes of the dark matter halo. The satellite galaxies have been accreted relatively recently compared to the dark matter mass and have experienced less phase-mixing and relaxation --- the memory of their accretion history can remain intact to z=0.

Estimation of isotropization time ( τiso) of QGP from direct photons

We calculate transverse momentum distribution of direct photons from various sources by taking into account the initial state momentum anisotropy of quark gluon plasma (QGP). The total photon yield is then compared with the recent measurement of photon transverse momentum distribution by the PHENIX collaboration. It is also demonstrated that the presence of such an anisotropy can describe the PHENIX photon data better than the isotropic case in the present model. We show that the isotropization time thus extracted lies within the range 1.5 ⩾ τ iso ⩾ 0.5 fm/c for the initial condition used here.

Translation of collision geometry fluctuations into momentum anisotropies in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We develop a systematic framework for the study of the initial collision geometry fluctuations in relativistic heavy-ion collisions and investigate how they evolve through different stages of the fireball history and translate into final particle momentum anisotropies. We find in our event-by-event analysis that only the few lowest momentum anisotropy parameters survive after the hydrodynamical evolution of the system. The geometry of the produced medium is found to be affected by the pre-equilibrium evolution of the medium and the thermal smearing of the discretized event-by-event initial conditions, both of which tend to smear out the spatial anisotropies. We find such effects to be more prominent for higher moments than for lower moments. The correlations between odd and even spatial anisotropy parameters during the pre-equilibrium expansion are quantitatively studied and found to be small. Our study provides a theoretical foundation for the understanding of initial state fluctuations and the collective expansion dynamics in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

HYDRODYNAMICAL NEUTRON STAR KICKS IN THREE DIMENSIONS

Using three-dimensional (3D) simulations of neutrino-powered supernova explosions we show that the hydrodynamical kick scenario proposed by Scheck et al. on the basis of two-dimensional (2D) models can yield large neutron star (NS) recoil velocities also in 3D. Although the shock stays relatively spherical, standing accretion-shock and convective instabilities lead to a globally asymmetric mass and energy distribution in the postshock layer. An anisotropic momentum distribution of the ejecta is built up only after the explosion sets in. Total momentum conservation implies the acceleration of the NS on a timescale of 1-3 seconds, mediated mainly by long-lasting, asymmetric accretion downdrafts and the anisotropic gravitational pull of large inhomogeneities in the ejecta. In a limited set of 15 solar-mass models with an explosion energy of about 10^51 erg this stochastic mechanism is found to produce kicks from <100 km/s to >500 km/s, and >1000 km/s seem possible. Strong rotational flows around the accreting NS do not develop in our collapsing, non-rotating progenitors. The NS spins therefore remain low with estimated periods of about 500-1000 ms and no alignment with the kicks.

Spectral analysis for the iron-based superconductors: Anisotropic spin fluctuations and fully gappeds±-wave superconductivity

Spin fluctuations are considered to be one of the candidates that drive a sign-reversed ${s}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$ superconducting state in the iron pnictides. In the magnetic scenario, whether the spin-fluctuation spectrum exhibits certain unique fine structures is an interesting aspect for theoretical study in order to understand experimental observations. We investigate the detailed momentum dependence of the short-range spin fluctuations using a two-orbital model in the self-consistent fluctuation exchange approximation and find that a common feature of those fluctuations that are capable of inducing a fully gapped ${s}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$ state is the momentum anisotropy with lengthened span along the direction transverse to the antiferromagnetic momentum transfer. Performing a qualitative analysis based on the orbital character and the deviation from perfect nesting of the electronic structure for the two-orbital and a more complete five-orbital model, we gain the insight that this type of anisotropic spin fluctuations favor superconductivity due to their enhancement of intraorbital, but interband, pair scattering processes. The momentum anisotropy leads to elliptically shaped magnetic responses which have been observed in inelastic neutron-scattering measurements. Meanwhile, our detailed study on the magnetic and the electronic spectrum shows that the dispersion of the magnetic resonance mode in the nearly isotropic ${s}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$ superconducting state exhibits anisotropic propagating behavior in an upward pattern and the coupling of the resonance mode to fermions leads to a dip feature in the spectral function.