# Magnetic monopole mass bounds from heavy ion collisions and neutron stars

## TL;DR

This paper establishes lower bounds on magnetic monopole masses based on their potential production in heavy ion collisions and neutron stars, providing a framework for experimental searches like MoEDAL.

## Contribution

It constructs the pair production cross section for magnetic monopoles in heavy ion collisions, linking astrophysical phenomena to experimental search strategies.

## Key findings

- Heavy ion collisions can produce magnetic monopoles via thermal Schwinger process.
- Neutron stars imply lower mass bounds for magnetic monopoles.
- The cross section for monopole pair production is explicitly derived.

## Abstract

Magnetic monopoles, if they exist, would be produced amply in strong magnetic fields and high temperatures via the thermal Schwinger process. Such circumstances arise in heavy ion collisions and in neutron stars, both of which imply lower bounds on the mass of possible magnetic monopoles. In showing this, we construct the cross section for pair production of magnetic monopoles in heavy ion collisions, which indicates that they are particularly promising for experimental searches such as MoEDAL.