Anomalous gravitomagnetic moment and nonuniversality of the axial vortical effect at finite temperature

The coupling between the spin of a massive Dirac fermion and the angular momentum of the medium, i.e. the gravitomagnetic moment, is shown here to be renormalized by QED interactions at finite temperature. This means that the anomalous gravitomagnetic moment (AGM) does not vanish, and implies that thermal effects can break the Einstein equivalence principle in quantum field theory, as argued previously. We also show that the AGM causes radiative corrections to the axial current of massive fermions induced by vorticity in quantum relativistic fluids, similarly to the previous findings for massless fermions. The radiative QCD effects on the AGM should significantly affect the production of polarized hadrons in heavy-ion collisions.

Automated summary

In this study, the coupling between the spin of a massive Dirac fermion and the angular momentum of the medium, known as the gravitomagnetic moment, is shown to be renormalized by QED interactions at finite temperature. The anomaly gravitomagnetic moment (AGM) is found not to vanish, and it suggests that thermal effects can disrupt the Einstein equivalence principle in quantum field theory. Additionally, the AGM contributes to radiative corrections in the axial current of massive fermions induced by vorticity in quantum relativistic fluids, with potential significant impacts on the production of polarized hadrons in heavy-ion collisions due to radiative QCD effects.