Onset of the Jet Quenching Phenomenon

Abstract

The aim of this study is to set a baseline for the jet quenching measurements of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) formed in the large system size Nucleus-Nucleus (A-A) at top central collisions, via studying simulated small system size, Nucleon-Nucleon (N-N) collisions. The proton-proton (p-p) collisions were simulated using PYTHIA, at center of mass energies $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} = 200$ $GeV$ and $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} = 13$ $TeV$ corresponding to the available energies at the current collider experiments; the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). At both energies, the two-particle azimuthal correlation functions have been considered, and the yield associated with the high transverse momentum ($p_{_{T}}$) particles were extracted at its near-side ($\Delta\phi \approx 0$) and away-side ($\Delta\phi \approx \pi$) at mid pseudo rapidity ($|\eta| \le 2$). The ratio between the near-side yields in the high multiplicity events to these of the low multiplicity events ($I_{_{HL}}^{^{N}}$), as well as, the ratio of the away-side yields ($I_{_{HL}}^{^{A}}$) were calculated at both energies as a function of the hadron fractional energy $z_{_{T}}$ of the high-$p_{_{T}}$ particle. At both energies, the values of $I_{_{HL}}^{^{N}}$ and $I_{_{HL}}^{^{A}}$ were less than unity, and of trivial dependence on $z_{_{T}}$. The values of $I_{_{HL}}^{^{A}}$ are always less than these of $I_{_{HL}}^{^{N}}$ at the same multiplicity and energy, and both quantities show a pattern of systematic decreases with the multiplicity. Such multiplicity dependence cannot be used neither to exclude the jet quenching nor to prove it in the high multiplicity events in p-p collisions, as the suppressions have been found at both sides, near and away of the high-$p_{_{T}}$ particle.