Baryon onset in a magnetic field

Abstract

The critical baryon chemical potential for the onset of nuclear matter is a function of the vacuum mass and the binding energy. Both quantities are affected by an external magnetic field. We show within two relativistic mean-field models - including magnetic catalysis, but omitting the anomalous magnetic moment - that a magnetic field increases both the vacuum mass and the binding energy. For sufficiently large magnetic fields, the effect on the vacuum mass dominates and as a result the critical baryon chemical potential is increased.