Probing the topological charge in QCD matter via multiplicity up–down asymmetry

Abstract Relativistic heavy ion collisions provide the possibility to study the topological charge in QCD matter through the event-by-event fluctuating net axial charge or nonequal numbers of left- and right-handed quarks they generate in the produced quark–gluon plasma. Based on the chiral kinetic approach for nearly massless quarks and antiquarks in the strong vorticity field produced along the normal direction of the reaction plane of non-central heavy ion collisions, we show that a unique signal for the topological charge in QCD matter can be identified from the asymmetric distribution of particles with momenta pointing to the upper and lower hemispheres of the reaction plane as a result of the fluctuating net axial charge.