Unitary Limit of Two-Nucleon Interactions in Strong Magnetic Fields

TL;DR

This study uses lattice QCD to explore how strong magnetic fields affect two-nucleon interactions, revealing large scattering lengths near the unitary limit, which could influence astrophysical and heavy-ion collision phenomena.

Contribution

The paper presents the first lattice QCD calculations of two-nucleon systems in ultra-strong magnetic fields at unphysical quark masses, highlighting potential physical implications.

Findings

Large scattering lengths observed at high magnetic fields.

Evidence of approach toward the unitary limit in nucleon interactions.

Implications for magnetar physics and heavy-ion collisions.

Abstract

Two-nucleon systems are shown to exhibit large scattering lengths in strong magnetic fields at unphysical quark masses, and the trends toward the physical values indicate that such features may exist in nature. Lattice QCD calculations of the energies of one and two nucleons systems are performed at pion masses of $m_\pi\sim 450$ and 806 MeV in uniform, time-independent magnetic fields of strength {\bf B}| \sim 10^{19}$-$10^{20}$ Gauss to determine the response of these hadronic systems to large magnetic fields. Fields of this strength may exist inside magnetars and in peripheral relativistic heavy ion collisions, and the unitary behavior at large scattering lengths may have important consequences for these systems.