Two gluon fusion into a $π^0$, $η$, or $η'$ in a relatively weak magnetic field

Abstract

In this article, we investigate gluon fusion as a mechanism for neutral meson production ($π^0$, $η$, and $η'$), in the phenomenological context of heavy-ion collisions prior to thermalization, in which a large gluon multiplicity is expected, and when an intense background magnetic field is expected to arise. For this purpose, we computed the ratios of the emission probability rates in the presence of the background magnetic field as compared to vacuum (zero-field), as a function of transverse momenta $p_T$ and energy $\sqrt{s}$, close to midrapidity. Our theoretical results suggest a catalytic effect from the presence of the background magnetic field, that may enhance the neutral pion production by several orders of magnitude at very small energies $s \lesssim 1~\text{GeV}^2$, while the effect is negligible at larger energies $s\gtrsim 10~\text{GeV}^2$. In contrast, the $η$ and $η'$ production rates are nearly insensitive to the magnetic field presence (as compared to vacuum).