Role of QCD monopoles in jet quenching

QCD monopoles are magnetically charged quasiparticles whose Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) at T<Tc creates electric confinement and flux tubes. The "magnetic scenario" of QCD proposes that scattering on the noncondensed component of the monopole ensemble at T>Tc is responsible for the unusual kinetic properties of quark-gluon plasma. In this paper, we study the contribution of the monopoles to jet quenching phenomenon, using the Baier-Dokshitzer-Mueller-Peigne-Schiff framework and hydrodynamic backgrounds. In the lowest order for cross sections, we calculate the nuclear modification factor, RAA, and azimuthal anisotropy, v2, of jets, as well as the dijet asymmetry, Aj, and compare those to the available data. We find relatively good agreement with experiment when using realistic hydrodynamic backgrounds. In addition, we find that event-by-event fluctuations are not necessary to reproduce RAA and v2 data, but play a role in Aj. Since the monopole-induced effects are maximal at T≈Tc, we predict that their role should be significantly larger, relative to quarks and gluons, at lower RHIC energies.