arXiv subjects

Larry D. McLerran

Publications and source records attributed to Larry D. McLerran.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Momentum Shell in Quarkyonic Matter from Explicit Duality: A Dual Model for Cold, Dense QCD

We present a model of cold QCD matter that bridges nuclear and quark matter through the duality relation between quarks and baryons. The baryon number and energy densities are expressed as functionals of either the baryon momentum distribution, $f_{\rm B}$, or the quark distribution, $f_{\rm Q}$, which are subject to the constraints on fermions, $0 \le f_{\rm B,Q} \le 1$. The theory is ideal in the sense that the confinement of quarks into baryons is reflected in the duality relation between $f_{\rm Q}$ and $f_{\rm B}$, while other possible interactions among quarks and baryons are all neglected. The variational problem with the duality constraints is formulated and we explicitly construct analytic solutions, finding two distinct regimes: A nuclear matter regime at low density and a Quarkyonic regime at high density. In the Quarkyonic regime, baryons underoccupy states at low momenta but form a momentum shell with $f_{\rm B}=1$ on top of a quark Fermi sea. Such a theory describes a rapid transition from a soft nuclear equation of state to a stiff Quarkyonic equation of state. At this transition, there is a rapid increase in the pressure.

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arXiv2023

Quarkyonic Mean Field Theory

We discuss mean field theory of Quarkyonic matter at zero temperature. We treat the nucleons with contact interactions in mean field approximation, discussing both vector and scalar mean field interactions. We treat the quarks without mean field vector interactions, but allow mass terms to be generated consistent from a scalar mean field consistent with the additive quark model for quark masses. Quarkyonic matter is composed of a shell of nucleons that under-occupy the total available phase space associated with the underlying quark degrees of freedom. The fully occupied Fermi sphere beneath this shell of nucleons at high densities is thought of as quarks, but when this fully occupied distribution of states first appears, although the phase space is filled, the matter is at low density. For the transition between this low density and high density saturated matter, we advocate a dual description of the fully filled Fermi sea in terms of hadrons, and make a phenomenological hypothesis for the equation of state of this matter. We then proceed to an example where the mean field interactions are all vector and only associated with the nucleons, ignoring the effects of mass change associated with the scalar interactions. Except for the effects of Pauli blocking, the nucleons and quarks do not interact. To get a reasonable transition to Quarkyonic matter the interaction of the quarks among themselves are assumed to be non-perturbative, and a simple phenomenological relation between quark Fermi energy and density is introduced.

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arXiv2022

Trace anomaly as signature of conformality in neutron stars

We discuss an interpretation that a peak in the sound velocity in neutron star matter, as suggested by the observational data, signifies strongly-coupled conformal matter. The normalized trace anomaly is a dimensionless measure of conformality leading to the derivative and the non-derivative contributions to the sound velocity. We find that the peak in the sound velocity is attributed to the derivative contribution from the trace anomaly that steeply approaches the conformal limit. Smooth continuity to the behavior of high-density QCD implies that the matter part of the trace anomaly may be positive definite. We discuss a possible implication of the positivity condition of the trace anomaly on the $M$-$R$ relation of the neutron stars.

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arXiv2021

Distribution of Nuclear Matter and Radiation in the Fragmentation Region

We study the fragmentation (far forward/backward) region of heavy ion collisions by considering an at-rest nucleus which is struck by a relativistic sheet of colored glass. By means of a simple classical model, we calculate the subsequent evolution of baryons and the associated radiation. We confirm that the struck nucleus undergoes a compression and that the dynamics of the early times of the collision are best described by two separate fluids as the produced radiation's velocity distribution is very different to the velocity distribution of the matter in the struck nucleus.

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arXiv2021

Quarkyonic Effective Field Theory, Quark-Nucleon Duality and Ghosts

We present a field theoretical description of quarkyonic matter consisting of quark, nucleon and ghost fields coupling to mesonic degrees of freedom. The ghosts are present to cancel over-counting of nucleon states that are Pauli blocked by the quark Fermi sea. Such a theory becomes an effective field theory of nucleons at low baryon density, and as such will reproduce nucleonic matter phenomenology. This theory can accommodate chiral symmetry restoration and the dynamical generation of a shell of nucleons at the Fermi surface. It is valid for finite temperature and density. In such a theory, quark-nucleon duality is accomplished by inclusion of ghost fields so that the nucleons extra degrees of freedom, that are beyond those of quarks, are compensated by the ghost fields.

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arXiv2020

Gluon Bremsstrahlung in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions

We study the process $qq\rightarrow qqg$ at lowest order in QCD perturbation theory to understand gluon radiation in the fragmentation region of relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We arrive at a formula for gluon multiplicity that interpolates between $\sim 1/k_{\bot}^2$ behavior at low $k_{\bot}$, to $\sim 1/k_{\bot}^4$ at large $k_{\bot}$.

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arXiv2019

Gluon Radiation from a classical point particle II: dense gluon fields

The goal of this paper is to extend the results of Ref. [1], where formulae were derived for gluonic radiation for a high energy nucleus colliding with a classical colored particle. In Ref. [1], we computed the amplitudes for radiation in the fragmentation region of the particle for a dilute gluonic field. In this paper, we compute the radiation by solving the fluctuation equations of the dense background field in a specific gauge which makes it simple to solve the asymptotic radiation from an initial condition immediately after the passage of the nucleus. We identify and compute two components of gluon radiation, a bulk component which extends to the central region and bremsstrahlung, which may give rise to an experimentally observable intensity peak in the target fragmentation region.

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arXiv2019

Gluon Radiation from a Classical Point Particle

We consider an initially at rest colored particle which is struck by an ultra-relativistic nucleus. The particle is treated classically both with respect to its motion and its color charge. The nucleus is treated as a sheet of colored glass within the context of the Color Glass Condensate framework. We compute both the momentum and coordinates of the struck classical particle and the emitted radiation. Our computations generalize the classic electrodynamics computation of the radiation of an accelerated charged particle to include the radiation induced by the charged gluon field. This latter contribution adds to the classic electrodynamics result and produces a gluon rapidity distribution that is roughly constant as a function of rapidity at rapidities far from the fragmentation region of the struck particles. These computations may form the basis of a first principles treatment for the initial conditions for the evolution of matter produced in the fragmentation region of asymptotically high energy collisions.

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arXiv2018

Space-Time Picture of Baryon Stopping in the Color-Glass Condensate

We discuss baryon stopping in the Color Glass Condensate description of high energy scattering. We consider the scattering of a distribution of valence quarks on an ultra-relativistic sheet of colored charge. We compute the distribution of scattered quarks from a composite projectile, and calculate the baryon currents before and after the collisions and on an event by event basis. We obtain simple analytic estimates of the baryon number compression and rapidity shifts, which in the idealized case of plane wave scattering, produce results that agree with considerations of Anishetty-Koehler-McLerran.

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arXiv2008

Baryons and the phase diagram for a large number of colors and flavors

We consider the possible phases of a non-Abelian gauge theory, as a function of temperature and quark chemical potential, when both the number of colors and flavors is very large. Generally, a large number of flavors washes out deconfining phase transitions. We show, however, that the degeneracy of even the lightest baryons is exponentially large. This implies that the baryon number (or fluctuations thereof, at zero chemical potential) is an order parameter in the limit of an infinite number of colors and flavors.

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arXiv2007

The effects of topological charge change in heavy ion collisions: "Event by event P and CP violation"

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) contains field configurations which can be characterized by a topological invariant, the winding number Q_w. Configurations with nonzero Q_w break the charge-parity CP symmetry of QCD. We consider a novel mechanism by which these configurations can separate charge in the presence of a background magnetic field - the "Chiral Magnetic Effect". We argue that sufficiently large magnetic fields are created in heavy ion collisions so that the Chiral Magnetic Effect causes preferential emission of charged particles along the direction of angular momentum. Since separation of charge is CP-odd, any observation of the Chiral Magnetic Effect could provide a clear demonstration of the topological nature of the QCD vacuum. We give an estimate of the effect and conclude that it might be observed experimentally.

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arXiv2006

On the Strongly-Interacting Low-Viscosity Matter Created in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions

Substantial collective flow is observed in collisions between large nuclei at RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) as evidenced by single-particle transverse momentum distributions and by azimuthal correlations among the produced particles. The data are well-reproduced by perfect fluid dynamics. A calculation of the dimensionless ratio of shear viscosity $η$ to entropy density $s$ by Kovtun, Son and Starinets within anti-de Sitter space/conformal field theory yields $η/s = \hbar/4πk_B$ which has been conjectured to be a lower bound for any physical system. Motivated by these results, we show that the transition from hadrons to quarks and gluons has behavior similar to helium, nitrogen, and water at and near their phase transitions in the ratio $η/s$. We suggest that experimental measurements can pinpoint the location of this transition or rapid crossover in QCD.

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