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Jet quenching in holographic QCD as an indicator of phase transitions in anisotropic regimes

Irina Ya. Aref’eva*, Ali Hajilou†, Alexander Nikolaev‡, and Pavel Slepov§

  • *Contact author: arefeva@mi-ras.ru
  • †Contact author: ma.hajilou@gmail.com
  • ‡Contact author: alexn99@gmail.com
  • §Contact author: slepov@mi-ras.ru
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 126007 – Published 10 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/yp42-9qzl

Abstract

In this paper, we employ the gauge-gravity duality to study jet quenching (JQ) phenomena in the quark-gluon plasma. For this purpose, we implement holographic quantum chromodynamics (QCD) models constructed from an Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity at finite temperature and finite chemical potential for light and heavy quarks. The models capture both the confinement and deconfinement phases of QCD and the first-order phase transitions. We calculate the JQ parameter in different models and compare them with the experimental data obtained in heavy-ions studies. In particular, we investigate how JQ, as a function of temperature T, chemical potential μ, and magnetic field cB, serves as a probe for identifying first-order phase transitions within the (T,μ,cB) parameter space of holographic QCD. Particular attention is paid to the dependence of JQ on the parameter ν, which characterizes longitudinal versus transverse anisotropy relative to the heavy-ion collision axis. By analyzing the dependence of the JQ parameters on these thermodynamic variables, we map critical regions associated with phase boundaries. We compare our findings to earlier studies of the running coupling constant’s behavior within the gauge-gravity duality framework. This approach provides new insights into the interplay between nonperturbative dynamics and phase structure in strongly coupled systems.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 126007– Published 10 December, 2025
  • Received 8 August 2025
  • Accepted 10 November 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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