Bottom quark dynamics from nonprompt D0 and J/ψ production in Pb+Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

Abstract

We study bottom quark energy loss via the nuclear modification factor (RAA) and elliptic flow (v2) of nonprompt D0 and J/ψ in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The space-time profile of quark-gluon plasma is obtained from the hydrodynamics simulation, the dynamical evolution of heavy quarks inside the color deconfined QCD medium is simulated using a linear Boltzmann transport model that combines Yukawa and string potentials of heavy-quark-medium interactions, the hadronization of heavy quarks is performed using a hybrid coalescence-fragmentation model, and the decay of B mesons is simulated via . Using this numerical framework, we calculate the transverse momentum (pT) dependent RAA and v2 of direct D mesons, B mesons, and nonprompt D0 and J/ψ from B meson decay in Pb+Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV. We find the mass hierarchy of the nuclear modification of prompt D and B mesons depends on their pT. Both RAA and v2 of heavy flavor particles show strong pT and centrality dependences due to the interplay between parton energy loss, medium geometry and flow, and hadronization of heavy quarks. Nonprompt D0 and J/ψ share similar patterns of RAA and v2 to B mesons except for a pT shift during the decay processes. Therefore, future more precise measurements on nonprompt D0 and J/ψ can help further pin down the bottom quark dynamics inside the quark-gluon plasma. Published by the American Physical Society 2024