Topology, magnetic field, and strongly interacting matter

TL;DR

This paper reviews the role of topology and magnetic fields in strongly interacting matter, highlighting their effects on QCD vacuum structure, plasma behavior, and observable phenomena across various physical systems.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of how topology and magnetic fields influence strongly interacting matter, emphasizing recent developments and experimental observations.

Findings

Topology affects QCD vacuum structure and plasma dynamics.

Magnetic fields induce observable effects in heavy ion collisions and condensed matter.

Chirality and topology interplay in diverse physical contexts.

Abstract

Gauge theories with compact symmetry groups possess topologically non-trivial configurations of gauge field. This has dramatic implications for the vacuum structure of Quantum Chromo-Dynamics (QCD) and for the behavior of QCD plasma, as well as for condensed matter systems with chiral quasiparticles. I review the current status of the problem with an emphasis on the interplay of chirality with a background magnetic field, and on the observable manifestations of topology in heavy ion collisions, Dirac semimetals, neutron stars, and in the Early Universe.