Nuclear suppression of the phi meson yields with large p_T at the RHIC and the LHC

Abstract

We calculate phi meson transverse momentum spectra in mathrm{p}+mathrm{p} collisions as well as their nuclear suppressions in central mathrm{A}+mathrm{A} collisions both at the RHIC and the LHC in LO and NLO with the QCD-improved parton model. We have included the parton energy loss effect in a hot/dense QCD medium with the effectively medium-modified phi fragmentation functions in the higher-twist approach of jet quenching. The nuclear modification factors of the phi meson in central mathrm{Au}+mathrm{Au} collisions at the RHIC and central mathrm{Pb}+mathrm{Pb} collisions at the LHC are provided, and nice agreement of our numerical results at NLO with the ALICE measurement is observed. Predictions of the yield ratios of neutral mesons such as phi /pi ^0, phi /eta and phi /rho ^0 at large p_T in relativistic heavy-ion collisions are also presented for the first time.