In-medium modification of J/ ψ break-up cross sections

Abstract

The in-medium modification of J/ ψ break-up cross sections due to the hadronic Mott effect for light ( π, ρ) and open-charmed (D,D ∗) quark–antiquark bound states at the chiral/deconfinement phase transition is discussed. The spectral broadening of these mesons lowers the threshold for J/ ψ break-up reactions leading to a step-like enhancement in the reaction rate. This mechanism for enhanced J/ ψ dissociation is suggested as the physical mechanism underlying the anomalous J/ ψ suppression observed by the NA50 experiment.