Theory of Hadronic Matter under Extreme Conditions seminar

The author computes the yield and elliptic flow coefficient for photons produced during the pre-equilibrium stage of semi-central relativistic heavy-ion collisions from the gluon fusion and splitting processes induced by the presence of a magnetic field. The calculation is performed for arbitrary values of the field strength. The pre-equilibrium gluon distribution is modelled with a glasma-inspired Bose-Einstein occupation factor, as well as with an anisotropic distribution that accounts for the rapid initial expansion along the beam axis. In both cases, there is good agreement between the calculation and the experimental data from PHENIX. Most notably, the shape and strength of the elliptic flow coefficient are described quite well, representing a step towards solving the outstanding photon puzzle.