Emission of linearly polarized photons in a strongly coupled magnetized plasma from the gauge/gravity correspondence

Abstract

We use holographic methods to show that photons emitted by a strongly coupled plasma subject to a magnetic field are linearly polarized regardless of their four-momentum, except when they propagate along the field direction. The gravitational dual is constructed using a 5D truncation of 10-dimensional type IIB supergravity, and includes a scalar field in addition to the constant magnetic one. In terms of the geometry of the collision experiment that we model, our statement is that any photon produced there has to be in its only polarization state parallel to the reaction plane.

Keywords

• Gauge/gravity correspondence
• Quark-gluon plasma
• Linearly polarized photons