Spontaneous Magnetization of Quark Matter in Inhomogeneous Chiral Phase

TL;DR

This paper investigates how inhomogeneous chiral phases in quark matter respond to weak magnetic fields, revealing a mechanism for spontaneous magnetization linked to spectral asymmetry and potential implications for magnetar magnetic fields.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for spontaneous magnetization in quark matter due to spectral asymmetry in inhomogeneous chiral phases, connecting chiral anomaly to magnetic properties.

Findings

Spectral asymmetry causes spontaneous magnetization in quark matter.

Magnetic susceptibility shows unique features near phase transitions.

Potential relevance to the magnetic fields of magnetars.

Abstract

Considering the density wave of scalar and pseudoscalar condensates, we study the response of quark matter to a weak external magnetic field. In an external magnetic field, the energy spectrum of the lowest Landau level becomes asymmetric about zero, which is closely related to chiral anomaly. This spectral asymmetry gives rise to spontaneous magnetization. This mechanism may be one of candidates for the origin of the strong magnetic field in magnetars. Furthermore, using the generalized Ginzburg-Landau(gGL) expansion, we show that magnetic susceptibility exhibits a peculiar feature