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Photon production from gluon splitting and fusion induced by a magnetic field of arbitrary strength in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Alejandro Ayala1,2,3, Santiago Bernal-Langarica1, José Jorge Medina-Serna1, and Ana Julia Mizher2,4

  • 1Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-543, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
  • 2Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 1371, CEP 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
  • 3Instituto de Física Teórica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rua Dr. Bento Teobaldo Ferraz, 271–Bloco II, 01140-070 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
  • 4Centro de Ciencias Exactas and Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Casilla 447, Chillán, Chile

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 096002 – Published 3 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qc7w-4wh8

Abstract

We compute the yield and elliptic flow coefficient for photons produced during the preequilibrium stage of semicentral 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 preequilibrium gluon distribution is modeled 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, we find a very 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 toward solving the outstanding photon puzzle.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 096002– Published 3 November, 2026
  • Received 26 August 2026
  • Accepted 13 October 2026
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