Magnetic contribution to dilepton production in heavy-ion collisions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new magnetic contribution mechanism to dilepton production in heavy-ion collisions, highlighting its dominance at low energies due to synchrotron radiation from quarks in intense magnetic fields.

Contribution

It presents a novel calculation of magnetic field-induced dilepton production, emphasizing its significance over conventional decay processes at low energies.

Findings

Magnetic contribution dominates at low lepton energies.

Synchrotron radiation by quarks is a key process.

Conventional decay dominates at higher energies.

Abstract

We calculate a novel "magnetic contribution" to the dilepton spectrum in heavy-ion collisions arising from interaction of relativistic quarks with intense magnetic field. Synchrotron radiation by quarks, which can be approximated by the equivalent photon flux, is followed by dilepton decay of photons in intense magnetic field. We argue that "magnetic contribution" dominates the dilepton spectrum at low lepton energies, whereas a conventional photon dilepton decay dominates at higher lepton energies.