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Probing vorticity and strong force fields in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
Oliva L.
Relativistic heavy-ion collisions are characterized by the generation of a strong vorticity as well as intense electromagnetic fields, reaching the highest values ever observed in Nature. Their impact on heavy-flavor particles, and in particular on the directed flow of D mesons, has been studied at RHIC and LHC energies by means of a relativistic Boltzmann transport approach, clarifying the powerful role of this observable in shedding light on the transport properties of the hot QCD matter formed in relativistic nuclear collisions. Vorticity and electromagnetic fields are also the main conventional mechanisms for particle spin polarization. However, they cannot explain the recent experimental data on spin alignment of vector mesons in heavy-ion collisions, while new insights come from a model that includes strong force fields and their local fluctuations, pointing to a hitherto unknown influence of the nuclear strong force.