Forward Rapidity Research Articles

N3LO corrections to jet production in deep inelastic scattering using the Projection-to-Born method

Computations of higher-order QCD corrections for processes with exclusive final states require a subtraction method for real-radiation contributions. We present the first-ever generalisation of a subtraction method for third-order (N3LO) QCD corrections. The Projection-to-Born method is used to combine inclusive N3LO coefficient functions with an exclusive second-order (NNLO) calculation for a final state with an extra jet. The input requirements, advantages, and potential applications of the method are discussed, and validations at lower orders are performed. As a test case, we compute the N3LO corrections to kinematical distributions and production rates for single-jet production in deep inelastic scattering in the laboratory frame, and compare them with data from the ZEUS experiment at HERA. The corrections are small in the central rapidity region, where they stabilize the predictions to sub per-cent level. The corrections increase substantially towards forward rapidity where large logarithmic effects are expected, thereby yielding an improved description of the data in this region.

Soft photon and two hard jets forward production in proton-nucleus collisions

We calculate the cross section for production of a soft photon and two hard jets in the forward rapidity region in proton-nucleus collisions at high energies. The calculation is performed within the hybrid formalism. The hardness of the final particles is defined with respect to the saturation scale of the nucleus. We consider both the correlation limit of small momentum imbalance and the dilute target limit where the momentum imbalance is of the order of the hardness of the jets. The results depend on the first two transversemomentum-dependent (TMD) gluon distributions of the nucleus.

Isolated photon production in proton-nucleus collisions at forward rapidity

We calculate isolated photon production at forward rapidities in proton-nucleus collisions in the Color Glass Condensate framework. Our calculation uses dipole cross sections solved from the running coupling Balitsky-Kovchegov equation with an initial condition fit to deep inelastic scattering data. For comparison, we also update the results for the nuclear modification factor for pion production in the same kinematics. We present predictions for future forward RHIC and LHC measurements at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV and $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=8$ TeV.

Transverse momentum spectra of hadrons in p + p collisions at CERN SPS energies from the UrQMD transport model

The UrQMD transport model, version 3.4, is used to study the new experimental data on transverse momentum spectra of π±, K±, p and p¯ produced in inelastic p+p interactions at SPS energies, recently published by the NA61/SHINE Collaboration. The comparison of model predictions to these new measurements is presented as a function of collision energy for central and forward particle rapidity intervals. In addition, the inverse slope parameters characterizing the transverse momentum distributions are extracted from the predicted spectra and compared to the corresponding values obtained from NA61/SHINE distributions, as a function of particle rapidity and collision energy. A complex pattern of deviations between the experimental data and the UrQMD model emerges. For charged pions, the fair agreement visible at top SPS energies deteriorates with the decreasing energy. For charged K mesons, UrQMD significantly underpredicts positive kaon production at lower beam momenta. It also underpredicts the central rapidity proton yield at top collision energy and overpredicts antiproton production at all considered energies. We conclude that the new experimental data analyzed in this paper still constitute a challenge for the present version of the model.

Single inclusive jet production and the nuclear modification ratio at very forward rapidity in proton-lead collisions with [formula omitted] TeV

We present calculations of single inclusive jet transverse momentum and energy spectra at forward rapidity (5.2<y<6.6) in proton-lead collisions with sNN=5.02 TeV. The predictions are obtained with the KaTie Monte Carlo event generator, which allows to calculate interactions within the High Energy Factorisation framework. The tree-level matrix element results are subsequently interfaced with the CASCADE Monte Carlo event generator to account for hadronisation. The effects of the saturation of the gluon density, leading to suppression of the cross section, are investigated.

Search for collectivity with azimuthal J/ψ-hadron correlations in high multiplicity p–Pb collisions at [formula omitted] and 8.16 TeV

We present a measurement of azimuthal correlations between inclusive J/ψ and charged hadrons in p–Pb collisions recorded with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The J/ψ are reconstructed at forward (p-going, 2.03<y<3.53) and backward (Pb-going, −4.46<y<−2.96) rapidity via their μ+μ− decay channel, while the charged hadrons are reconstructed at mid-rapidity (|η|<1.8). The correlations are expressed in terms of associated charged-hadron yields per J/ψ trigger. A rapidity gap of at least 1.5 units is required between the trigger J/ψ and the associated charged hadrons. Possible correlations due to collective effects are assessed by subtracting the associated per-trigger yields in the low-multiplicity collisions from those in the high-multiplicity collisions. After the subtraction, we observe a strong indication of remaining symmetric structures at Δφ≈0 and Δφ≈π, similar to those previously found in two-particle correlations at middle and forward rapidity. The corresponding second-order Fourier coefficient (v2) in the transverse momentum interval between 3 and 6 GeV/c is found to be positive with a significance of about 5σ. The obtained results are similar to the J/ψv2 coefficients measured in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV, suggesting a common mechanism at the origin of the J/ψv2.

Bio-based chemicals one step closer to commercial breakthrough

We calculate isolated photon production at forward rapidities in proton-nucleus collisions in the Color Glass Condensate framework. Our calculation uses dipole cross sections solved from the running coupling Balitsky-Kovchegov equation with an initial condition fit to deep inelastic scattering data and extended to nuclei with an optical Glauber procedure that introduces no additional parameters beyond the basic nuclear geometry. We present predictions for future forward RHIC and LHC measurements. The predictions are also compared to updated results for the nuclear modification factors for pion production, Drell-Yan dileptons and J/ψ mesons in the same forward kinematics, consistently calculated in the same theoretical framework. We find that leading order, running coupling high energy evolution in the CGC picture leads to a significant nuclear suppression at forward rapidities. This nuclear suppression is stronger for photons than for pions. We also discuss how this might change with next-to-leading order high energy evolution.

Investigating the transverse single spin asymmetry in the inelastic J/Ψ photoproduction in p↑p and p↑A collisions

In this paper we propose to investigate the transverse single spin asymmetry in the inelastic $J/\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}$ photoproduction in ${p}^{\ensuremath{\uparrow}}p$ and ${p}^{\ensuremath{\uparrow}}A$ collisions at RHIC energies. At leading order this process probes the gluon Sivers function. We predict large values for the cross sections, which indicates that its experimental analysis is, in principle, feasible. The rapidity dependence of the single spin asymmetry is presented. We obtain that the asymmetry is strongly dependent on the model used for the gluon Sivers function and that it can be probed by the analysis of the $J/\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Psi}}$ production at forward rapidities. Our results indicate that a future experimental analysis of this process can be useful to constrain the gluon Sivers function.

Quarkonium production in pp and p-A collisions with ALICE at the LHC

Quarkonia are mesons formed of either a charm and anti-charm quark pair (J/ψ, ψ(2S)) or a beauty and anti-beauty quark pair (ϒ(1S), (2S) and (3S)). We report on forward rapidity (2:5 &lt; y &lt; 4) J/ψ and ψ(2S) production measured in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV, using data collected at the LHC in 2015. The results will be compared with similar measurements performed at √s = 2.76, 5.02, 7 and 8 TeV. They will be further compared to NRQCD and FONLL calculations, which describe prompt and non-prompt charmonium production respectively. Results of the J/ψ nuclear modification factor as a function of collision centrality in p–Pb collisions at [see formula in PDF] = 8.16 TeV, at forward and backward rapidities, will also be presented. These measurements will be compared with Run-1 (2009 – 2013) results as well as theoretical calculations and will be interpreted in terms of cold nuclear matter effects.

PHENIX results on open heavy flavor production

PHENIX measures the open heavy flavor productions in p + p, Cu+Au, and Au+Au collisions at [see formula in PDF] = 200 and 510 GeV using the silicon tracking detectors for mid- and forward rapidities. In Au+Au collisions, the nuclear modification of single electrons from bottom and charm hadron decays are measured for minimum bias and most central collisions. It is found that bottoms are less suppressed than charms in pT=3-5 GeV/c and charms in most central collisions are more suppressed than that in minimum bias collisions. In p + p and Cu+Au collisions, J/ψ from B meson decays are measured at forward and backward rapidities. The nuclear modification of B mesons in Cu+Au collisions is consistent with unity.

ϕ meson production at forward rapidity in pp and Pb–Pb collisions with ALICE at the LHC

The ALICE Collaboration has measured ϕ meson production in the dimuon channel at the forward rapidity (2.5 &lt; y &lt; 4) in pp and Pb–Pb collisions at several center of mass energies. Results in pp collisions at center of mass energies √s = 5.02 and 8 TeV are reported. They complement the previously published results at √s = 2.76 and √s = 7 TeV, providing a solid baseline for Pb–Pb collisions. In Pb–Pb, the preliminary ϕ meson transverse momentum spectra for different centrality classes and the yields as a function of the collision centrality in the transverse momentum range 2 &lt; pT &lt; 7 GeV/c are presented.

Measurement of Open Heavy-Flavour Production in pp and p–Pb Collisions with ALICE at the LHC

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN allows us to study heavy-ion collisions at an un- precedented energy. ALICE, A Large Ion Collider Experiment, is the experiment ded- icated to the investigation of heavy-ion collisions. In this contribution, recent open heavy-flavour results from pp collisions at [Formula: see text]= 5.02, 7, 8 and 13 TeV and p–Pb collisions at [Formula: see text] = 5.02 TeV, collected with the ALICE detector during the LHC Run-1 and Run-2 are presented. The results include the production cross section, nuclear modification factor and multiplicity dependence studies of production of D mesons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at mid-rapidity and of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at forward rapidity. Charm production was measured down to [Formula: see text] = 0 GeV/[Formula: see text] in pp and p–Pb collisions. Recent measurements of the production cross section of heavy charmed baryons such as [Formula: see text] (in pp and p–Pb) and [Formula: see text] (in pp) are discussed. The results are compared with theoretical model predictions.

Forward particle production in proton-nucleus collisions at next-to-leading order

We consider the next-to-leading order (NLO) calculation of single inclusive particle production at forward rapidities in proton-nucleus collisions and in the framework of the Color Glass Condensate (CGC). We focus on the quark channel and the corrections associated with the impact factor. In the first step of the evolution the kinematics of the emitted gluon is kept exactly (and not in the eikonal approximation), but such a treatment which includes NLO corrections is not explicitly separated from the high energy evolution. Thus, in this newly established “factorization scheme”, there is no “rapidity subtraction”. The latter suffers from fine tuning issues and eventually leads to an unphysical (negative) cross section. On the contrary, our reorganization of the perturbation theory leads by definition to a well-defined cross section and the numerical evaluation of the NLO correction is shown to have the correct size.

Open heavy-flavour measurements with ALICE at the LHC

Heavy quarks are produced in the early stages of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions, and their number is preserved throughout the subsequent evolution of the system. Therefore, they constitute ideal probes for characterising the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) medium and for the study of its transport properties. In particular, heavy quarks interact with the partonic constituents of the plasma, losing energy, and are expected to be sensitive to the medium collective motion induced by its hydrodynamical evolution. In pp collisions, the measurement of heavy-flavour hadron production provides a reference for heavyion studies, and allows also testing perturbative QCD calculations in a wide range of collision energies. Similar studies in p-Pb collisions help in disentangling cold nuclear matter effects from modifications induced by the presence of a QGP medium, and are also useful to investigate the possible existence of collective phenomena also in this system. The ALICE detector provides excellent performances in terms of particle identification and vertexing capabilities. Hence, it is fully suited for the reconstruction of charmed mesons and baryons and of electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at central rapidity. Furthermore, the ALICE muon spectrometer allows reconstructing heavy-flavour decay muons at forward rapidity. A review of the main ALICE results on open heavy flavour production in pp, p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions is presented. Recent, more differential measurements are also shown, including azimuthal correlations of heavy-flavour particles with charged hadrons in p-Pb collisions, and D-meson tagged-jet production in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions.

Quarkonium production in Pb-Pb collisions at √SNN = 5.02 TeV with ALICE

Ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider provide a unique opportunity to study the properties of matter at extreme energy densities where a phase transition from the hadronic matter to a deconfined medium of quarks and gluons, the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) is predicted. Among the prominent probes of the QGP, heavy quarks play a crucial role since they are created during the initial stages of the collision, before the QGP formation, and their number is conserved throughout the partonic and hadronic phases of the collision. The azimuthal anisotropy of charmonium production, quantified using the second harmonic Fourier coefficient (referred to as elliptic flow), provides important information on the magnitude and dynamics of charmonium production. Measurements of the quarkonium nuclear modification factor at forward rapidity and J/ψ elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions as a function of centrality, transverse momentum and rapidity will be presented and compared to different collision energy results and available theoretical calculations.

Measurement of heavy-flavour production, correlations and jets with ALICE

In this article, recent ALICE measurements of the RAA and v2 of electrons at mid-rapidity (|y|&lt;0.6) and muons at forward rapidity (2.5&lt;y&lt;4), from semi-leptonic decays of heavy-flavour hadrons in Pb–Pb collisions at [see formula in PDF] = 5.02 TeV are shown. The results of D-tagged jet production cross-section in pp collisions at √s =7 TeV are presented. In addition, the azimuthal correlation of D mesons with charged particles in p–Pb collisions at [see formula in PDF] = 5.02 TeV, and electrons from semi-leptonic decays of heavyflavour hadrons with charged particles in p–Pb and Pb–Pb collisions at [see formula in PDF] = 5.02 TeV are reported.

Systematic study of high pT hadron production in small collision systems by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC

High pT hadrons in the small systems of d/3He+Au and p+Al/Au collisions have been measured at the midrapidity (|ƞ| &lt; 0.35) as well as at the forward and backward rapidities (1.2 &lt; |ƞ| &lt; 2.4) at √sNN =200 GeV. A clear system and centrality ordering in the Rp/d/HeA was observed for midrapidity π0 production. Hadron Rcp as a function of rapidity in forward and backward regions show an opposite trend to what HIJING++ predicted. Together with the difference of Rcp in p+Al/Au collisions, the observation can be understood consistently with the measured long-range two-particle correlations, hinting the possible medium creation similar to A+A collisions.

Highlights from PHENIX at RHIC

Hadrons conveying strange quarks or heavy quarks are essential probes of the hot and dense medium created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. With hidden strangeness, ϕ meson production and its transport in the nuclear medium have attracted high interest since its discovery. Heavy quark-antiquark pairs, like charmonium and bottomonium mesons, are mainly produced in initial hard scattering processes of partons. While some of the produced pairs form bound quarkonia, the vast majority hadronize into particles carrying open heavy flavor. In this context, the PHENIX collaboration carries out a comprehensive physics program which studies the ϕ meson production, and heavy flavor production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC. In recent years, the PHENIX experiment upgraded the detector in installing silicon vertex tracker (VTX) at mid-rapidity region and forward silicon vertex tracker (FVTX) at the forward rapidity region. With these new upgrades, the experiment has collected large data samples, and enhanced the capability of heavy flavor measurements via precision tracking. This paper summarizes the latest PHENIX results concerning ϕ meson, open and closed charm and beauty heavy quark production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These results are presented as a function of rapidity, energy and system size, and their interpretation with respect to the current theoretical understanding.

Longitudinal Double Spin Asymmetries of π0 - Jet Correlations in Polarized Proton Collisions at s = 510 GeV at STAR

One of the primary goals of the spin physics program at STAR is to constrain the polarized gluon distribution function, [Formula: see text], by measuring the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry ([Formula: see text]) of various final-state channels. Using a jet in the mid-rapidity region [Formula: see text] correlated with an azimuthally back-to-back [Formula: see text] in the forward rapidity region [Formula: see text] provides a new possibility to access the [Formula: see text] distribution at Bjorken-[Formula: see text] down to 0.01. Compared to inclusive jet or inclusive [Formula: see text] measurements, this channel also allows to constrain the initial parton kinematics. In these proceedings, we will present the status of the analysis of the [Formula: see text]-jet [Formula: see text] in longitudinally polarized proton+proton collisions at [Formula: see text] =510 GeV with 80 pb[Formula: see text] of data taken during the 2012 RHIC run. We also compare the projected [Formula: see text] uncertainties to theoretical predictions of the [Formula: see text] by next-to-leading order (NLO) model calculations with different polarized parton distribution functions.

Measurements of azimuthal anisotropy and charged-particle multiplicity in d + Au collisions at sNN=200 , 62.4, 39, and 19.6 GeV

We present measurements of the elliptic flow, $v_2$, as a function of transverse momentum ($p_T$), pseudorapidity ($\eta$), and centrality in $d$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=$200, 62.4, 39, and 19.6 GeV. The beam-energy scan of $d$$+$Au collisions provides a testing ground for the onset of flow signatures in small collision systems. We measure a nonzero $v_2$ signal at all four collision energies, which, at midrapidity and low $p_T$, is consistent with predictions from viscous hydrodynamic models. Comparisons with calculations from parton transport models (based on the {\sc ampt} Monte Carlo generator) show good agreement with the data at midrapidity to forward ($d$-going) rapidities and low $p_T$. At backward (Au-going) rapidities and $p_T>1.5$ GeV/$c$, the data diverges from {\sc ampt} calculations of $v_2$ relative to the initial geometry, indicating the possible dominance of nongeometry related correlations, referred to as nonflow. We also present measurements of the charged-particle multiplicity ($dN_{\rm ch}/d\eta$) as a function of $\eta$ in central $d$$+$Au collisions at the same energies. We find that in $d$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=$200 GeV the $v_2$ scales with $dN_{\rm ch}/d\eta$ over all $\eta$ in the PHENIX acceptance. At $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=$62.4, and 39 GeV, $v_2$ scales with $dN_{\rm ch}/d\eta$ at midrapidity and forward rapidity, but falls off at backward rapidity. This departure from the $dN_{\rm ch}/d\eta$ scaling may be a further indication of nonflow effects dominating at backward rapidity.