Local spin polarization by color-field correlators and momentum anisotropy

TL;DR

This paper investigates how local quark spin polarization arises from color-field correlators in anisotropic quark-gluon plasma, explaining experimental hyperon polarization patterns through gluon field effects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism linking color-field correlators to spin polarization, providing a theoretical explanation for observed hyperon polarization in heavy ion collisions.

Findings

Longitudinal polarization spectrum has a sinusoidal azimuthal dependence.

Order-of-magnitude estimates match experimental data.

Highlights the role of coherent gluon fields as a new polarization source.

Abstract

We study the local spin polarization of quarks induced by color-field correlators stemming from the correlation of chromo-Lorentz force and chromo-magnetic polarization or chromo-spin Hall effect in the presence of momentum anisotropy. Such effects can trigger longitudinal polarization from fluctuating color fields in glasma or quark gluon plasma phases with transverse expansion for relativistic heavy ion collisions. Especially, from the glasma effect, the resulting longitudinal polarization spectrum of $\Lambda/\bar{\Lambda}$ hyperons has a sinusoidal structure with twice the azimuthal angle relative to the anisotropic direction. An order-of-magnitude estimate of the effect aligns with experimental observations. Our findings highlight the significant role of coherent gluon fields as a novel source for spin polarization phenomena in high-energy nuclear collisions.