Incomplete electromagnetic response of hot QCD matter

Abstract

The electromagnetic response of hot QCD matter to decaying external magnetic fields is investigated. We examine the validity of Ohm's law and find that the induced electric current increases from zero and relaxes towards the value from Ohm's law. The relaxation time is larger than the lifetime of the external magnetic field for the QCD matter in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The lower-than-expected electric current significantly suppresses the induced magnetic field and makes the electromagnetic response incomplete. We demonstrate the incomplete electromagnetic response of hot QCD matter by calculations employing the parton transport model combined with the solution of Maxwell's equations. Our results show a strong suppression by two orders of magnitude in the magnetic field relative to calculations assuming the validity of Ohm's law. This may undermine experimental efforts to measure magnetic-field-related effects in heavy-ion collisions.