Imprint Left on Nuclear Matter Suggests That the Strongest Magnetic Fields in the Universe Could Be Right Here on Earth

There are regions in the universe where matter gets very distorted that magnetism grows into an unthinkable force. Known as magnetars, these highly dynamic neutron stars have gravitationally compacted cores which concentrate magnetic fields that measure around 100 trillion gauss.

Yet, it is believed that there could be places on Earth where tiny amounts of magnetism flicker with strengths that exceed even the cosmic monstrosities. In a recent breakthrough, scientists were able to demonstrate the first measurement of how the magnetic field interacts with the quark-gluon plasma (QGP).

What are Quarks?

Quarks refer to fundamental particles which flicker in and out of existence in quantum blizzards. Their interactions are controlled by briefly lived gluon particles which bind that quark and antiquark tempests into the protons and neutrons that make up all atoms.

By learning how quarks and antiquarks duck and dive in their short lifespans inside nuclear particles, physicists can better understand the composition of matter from the ground up.Yet, this is not an easy feat considering the physics that lie at the heart of an atom.

Using the chiral magnetic effect, it is theoretically possible to map the activity of quarks as well as their oppositely charged antiquark twins. In practice, however, the electromagnetic field within exposed quarks and gluons is too short-lived to be observed, considering the effects of competitive current flow.

To solve the challenges in generating a handy magnetic field, physicists thought of a collision between heavy nuclei which are not perfectly on-center. The protons within the massive bundles can be clipped to one another and be sent spiraling in a charged swirl. This could result in a powerful vortex of magnetism which is powerful enough to deliver more gauss than a quaking neutron star.

Colossal Magnetic Field

In the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, an analysis of particle interactions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has discovered large traces of magnetic fields. These are imprinted on the spray of material shed by heavy ion nuclei that crashed together.

The evidence was found by measuring the way differently charged particles separate after emerging from collisions of atomic nuclei at the DOE Office of Science user facility. The details of the experiment were described in the paper "Observation of the Electromagnetic Field Effect via Charge-Dependent Directed Flow in Heavy-Ion Collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider."

Led by M. I. Abdulhamid, the research team measured the shrapnel of smaller quark and gluon particles set free by off-center collisions. They expected fast-moving positive charges to generate a very strong magnetic field which could measure 10^18 gauss. According to STAR physicist Gang Wang, this could be the strongest magnetic field in the universe.

This means that this vector field can make flashes of magnetism that are 10,000 times stronger than the most powerful magnetar and about 10 quadrillion times stronger than the 100 gauss of a typical refrigerator magnet. While magnetars can produce large amounts of magnetic maelstroms for tens of thousands of years, the proton-induced bursts of magnetisms can last only ten millionths of billionth of a billionths of a second, making it impossible to have any glimpse of the field itself. Still, its presence can still be felt by the charged quarks let loose by the collision.