A Review on Intense Electromagnetic Fields in Heavy-Ion Collisions: Theoretical Predictions and Experimental Results

TL;DR

This review summarizes the theoretical predictions and experimental findings regarding the ultra-intense electromagnetic fields generated during relativistic heavy-ion collisions, highlighting their effects on particle interactions and future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the generation, evolution, and detection of electromagnetic fields in heavy-ion collisions, combining theoretical models with experimental results.

Findings

Electromagnetic fields reach up to 10^{19} Gauss at LHC.

Fields significantly influence particle interactions and phenomena.

Experimental efforts are advancing in detecting these fields.

Abstract

In heavy-ion collisions at relativistic energies, the incident nuclei travel at nearly the speed of light. These collisions deposit kinetic energy into the overlap region and create a high-temperature environment where hadrons ``melt'' into deconfined quarks and gluons. The spectator nucleons, which do not undergo scatterings, generate an ultra-intense electromagnetic field -- on the order of $10^{18}$ Gauss at Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider, and $10^{19}$ Gauss at the Large Hadron Collider. These powerful electromagnetic fields have a significant impact on the produced particles, not only complicating the study of particle interactions but also inducing novel physical phenomena. To explore the nature of these fields and their interactions with deconfined quarks, we provide a detailed overview, encompassing theoretical estimations of their generation and evolution, as well as experimental efforts to detect them. We also provide physical interpretations of the discovered results and discuss potential directions for future investigations.