High Energy Hadronic Collisions Research Articles

Surface Resistance of Superconductors in the Presence of a DC Magnetic Field: Frequency and Field Intensity Limits

We revisit the classical rigid-fluxon model which describes the effect of an applied magnetic flux on the RF surface resistance of a superconductor and discuss explicit formulations for a few limit cases. As an application, we discuss the role of magnetic flux on the enhanced surface resistance of RF accelerating cavities based on niobium, depending on its material properties. We also assess the conditions for the use of high-temperature superconductors for carrying the beam image RF currents in future high-energy circular hadron colliders such as the future circular collider being studied at CERN.

Statistical moments in superposition models and strongly intensive measures

First, we present a concise glossary of formulas for composition of standard, cumulant, factorial, and factorial cumulant moments in superposition (compound) models, where final particles are created via independent emission from a collection of sources. Explicit mathematical formulas for the composed moments are given to all orders. We discuss the composition laws for various types of moments via the generating-function methods and list the formulas for the unfolding of the unwanted fluctuations. Second, the technique is applied to the difference of the scaled multiplicities of two particle types. This allows us for a systematic derivation and a simple algebraic interpretation of the so-called strongly intensive fluctuation measures. With the help of the formalism we obtain several new strongly intensive measures involving higher-rank moments. The reviewed as well as the new results may be useful in investigations of mechanisms of particle production and event-by-event fluctuations in high-energy nuclear and hadronic collisions, and in particular in the search for signatures of the QCD phase transition at a finite baryon density.

Implementation of NLO high energy factorization in single inclusive forward hadron production

Single inclusive particle production cross sections in high energy hadron collisions at forward rapidity are an important benchmark process for the CGC picture of small x QCD. Recent calculations of this process have not led to a stable perturbative expansion for this quantity at high transverse momenta. We consider the quark channel production cross section using the new rapidity factorization procedure proposed by Iancu et al. We show that for fixed coupling one does indeed obtain a physically meaningful cross section which is positive and reduces in a controlled way to previous leading order calculations. We also consider a running coupling that depends on the transverse momentum of the produced particle. This gives a stable result which, however, is not fully consistent with previous leading order calculations that use a coordinate space running coupling.

Holographic QCD predictions for production and decay of pseudoscalar glueballs

The top–down holographic Witten–Sakai–Sugimoto model for low-energy QCD, augmented by finite quark masses, has recently been found to be able to reproduce the decay pattern of the scalar glueball candidate f0(1710) on a quantitative level. In this Letter we show that this model predicts a narrow pseudoscalar glueball heavier than the scalar glueball and with a very restricted decay pattern involving η or η′ mesons. Production should be either in pairs or in association with η(′) mesons. We discuss the prospect of discovery in high-energy hadron collider experiments through central exclusive production by comparing with η′ pair production.

Measurement of inclusive jet spectra in pp, p–Pb, and Pb–Pb collisions with the ALICE detector

Highly energetic jets are sensitive probes of the kinematic properties and the topology of high energy hadron collisions. Jets are collimated sprays of charged and neutral particles, which are produced in fragmentation of hard scattered partons from an early stage of the collision. In ALICE, jets have been measured in pp, p–Pb, and Pb–Pb collisions at several collision energies. While analyses of Pb–Pb events unveil properties of the hot and dense medium formed in heavy-ion collisions, pp and p–Pb collisions can shed light on hadronization and cold nuclear matter effects in jet production. Additionally, pp and p–Pb collisions serve as a baseline for disentangling hot and cold nuclear matter effects. A possible modification of the initial state is tested in p–Pb analyses. For the extraction of a jet signal, the exact evaluation of the background from the underlying event is an especially important ingredient. Due to the different nature of underlying events, each collision system requires a different analysis technique for removing the effect of the background on the jet sample. The focus of this publication is on the ALICE measurements of nuclear modification factors connecting p–Pb and Pb–Pb events to pp collisions. Furthermore, the radial jet structure is explored by comparing jet spectra reconstructed with different resolution parameters.

The gluon condensation at high energy hadron collisions

We report that the saturation/CGC model of gluon distribution is unstable under action of the chaotic solution in a nonlinear QCD evolution equation, and it evolves to the distribution with a sharp peak at the critical momentum. We find that this gluon condensation is caused by a new kind of shadowing–antishadowing effects, and it leads to a series of unexpected effects in high energy hadron collisions including astrophysical events. For example, the extremely intense fluctuations in the transverse-momentum and rapidity distributions of the gluon jets present the gluon-jet bursts; a sudden increase of the proton–proton cross sections may fill the GZK suppression; the blocking QCD evolution will restrict the maximum available energy of the hadron–hadron colliders.

Long-range rapidity correlations between mean transverse momenta

The forward-backward correlation strength between event-mean transverse momenta of particles produced in separated rapidity intervals in high energy hadronic collisions is analyzed in the simple model with the string fusion on a transverse lattice. The coefficient of long-range rapidity p t - p t correlation is obtained using the negative binomial distribution for the number of strings, which is closer to reality than the poissonian one. The results demonstrate good agreement with the asymptotes of the correlation coefficient analytically calculated earlier at large string density. It is observed that at LHC energy the p t - p t correlation coefficient reveals the drop for most central collisions. The model calculations show that the physical reason for this decrease is the attenuation of color field fluctuations due to the string fusion at large string density, whereas at RHIC energy the string density is not enough to provide a decline of the correlation coefficient for most central collisions.

Associated production of J/ψ and mesons and the prospects to observe a new hypothetical tetraquark state

We propose a new mechanism for prompt simultaneous production of J/ψ and ϒ mesons in high energy hadronic collisions. The process is considered as a perturbative production of B c ( * ) mesons g + g → B c ( * ) + B c ( * ) followed by a long-distance final state interaction that rearranges the quarks to form J/ψ and ϒ mesons. Passing from B c ( * ) + B c ( * ) configuration to J/ψ+ ϒ configuration may proceed via a hypothetical resonance state, the tetraquark. The goal of this work is to examine whether the respective cross section is large enough to encourage a direct search for the tetraquark at the LHC conditions (yes), and whether this hypothesis can help to explain recent D0 data without assigning an unusually low value to σeff in the double parton scattering mechanism (no).

Confronting lepton flavor universality violation in B decays with high- p T tau lepton searches at LHC

We confront the indications of lepton flavor universality (LFU) violation observed in semi-tauonic $B$ meson decays with new physics (NP) searches using high $p_T$ tau leptons at the LHC. Using effective field theory arguments we correlate possible non-standard contributions to semi-tauonic charged currents with the $\tau^+ \tau^-$ signature at high energy hadron colliders. Several representative standard model extensions put forward to explain the anomaly are examined in detail: (i) weak triplet of color-neutral vector resonances, (ii) second Higgs doublet and (iii) scalar or (iv) vector leptoquark. We find that, in general, $\tau^+ \tau^-$ searches pose a serious challenge to NP explanations of the LFU anomaly. Recasting existing 8 TeV and 13 TeV LHC analyses, stringent limits are set on all considered simplified models. Future projections of the $\tau^+ \tau^-$ constraints as well as caveats in interpreting them within more elaborate models are also discussed.

Modeling new XYZ states at JPAC

The observation of the unexpected XYZP resonances has challenged the usual heavy quarkonium framework. One of the most studied exotic states, the X(3872), happens to be copiously produced in high-energy hadron collisions. We discuss how this large prompt production cross-section, together with the comparison with light nuclei production data, disfavors a loosely-bound molecule interpretation, and calls for a new interpretation for the exotic hadron resonances. We also present the research of the Joint Physics Analysis Center in Hadron Spectroscopy.

Mass Ordering of Spectra from Fragmentation of Saturated Gluon States in High-Multiplicity Proton-Proton Collisions.

The mass ordering of mean transverse momentum ⟨p_{T}⟩ and of the Fourier harmonic coefficient v_{2}(p_{T}) of azimuthally anisotropic particle distributions in high energy hadron collisions is often interpreted as evidence for the hydrodynamic flow of the matter produced. We investigate an alternative initial state interpretation of this pattern in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions at the LHC. The QCD Yang-Mills equations describing the dynamics of saturated gluons are solved numerically with initial conditions obtained from the color-glass-condensate-based impact-parameter-dependent glasma model. The gluons are subsequently fragmented into various hadron species employing the well established Lund string fragmentation algorithm of the pythia event generator. We find that this initial state approach reproduces characteristic features of bulk spectra, in particular, the particle mass dependence of ⟨p_{T}⟩ and v_{2}(p_{T}).

The MV model of the color glass condensate for a finite number of sources including Coulomb interactions

We modify the McLerran–Venugopalan model to include only a finite number of sources of color charge. In the effective action for such a system of a finite number of sources, there is a point-like interaction and a Coulombic interaction. The point interaction generates the standard fluctuation term in the McLerran–Venugopalan model. The Coulomb interaction generates the charge screening originating from well known evolution in x. Such a model may be useful for computing angular harmonics of flow measured in high energy hadron collisions for small systems. In this paper we provide a basic formulation of the problem on a lattice.

Monojet searches for MSSM simplified models

We explore the implications of monojet searches at hadron colliders in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM). To quantify the impact of monojet searches, we consider simplified MSSM scenarios with neutralino dark matter. The monojet results of the LHC Run 1 are reinterpreted in the context of several MSSM simplified scenarios, and the complementarity with direct supersymmetry search results is highlighted. We also investigate the reach of monojet searches for the Run 2, as well as for future higher energy hadron colliders.

The impact of s- $\bar{s}$ asymmetry on the strange electromagnetic form factor

The existence of the strange quark asymmetry in the nucleon sea has been indicated by both the experimental and theoretical analyses. Although it is well known that the s-\(\bar{{s}}\) asymmetry is important for some processes in high-energy hadron collisions, it has also been indicated that it can be related to the strange Dirac form factor F1s. In this work, we have studied the impact of s-\( \bar{{s}}\) asymmetry and its uncertainty from various modern parton distribution functions (PDFs) on F1s and compared the obtained results with the available experimental information. As a result, we found that the uncertainty in F1s(t) due to the s(x) - \( \bar{s}\)(x) distribution is rather large so that it dominates the model uncertainty at all values of the squared momentum transfer t. However, taking into account the uncertainties, the theoretical predictions of F1s(t) are fully compatible with the estimate extracted from experiment. We concluded that the future accurate experimental data of the strange Dirac form factor might be used to put direct constraints on the strange content of the proton and reduce its uncertainty that has always been a challenge.

Towards future circular colliders

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) presently provides proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass (c.m.) energy of 13 TeV. The LHC design was started more than 30 years ago, and its physics program will extend through the second half of the 2030’s. The global Future Circular Collider (FCC) study is now preparing for a post-LHC project. The FCC study focuses on the design of a 100-TeV hadron collider (FCC-hh) in a new ∼100 km tunnel. It also includes the design of a high-luminosity electron-positron collider (FCCee) as a potential intermediate step, and a lepton-hadron collider option (FCC-he). The scope of the FCC study comprises accelerators, technology, infrastructure, detectors, physics, concepts for worldwide data services, international governance models, and implementation scenarios. Among the FCC core technologies figure 16-T dipole magnets, based on Nb3 S n superconductor, for the FCC-hh hadron collider, and a highly-efficient superconducting radiofrequency system for the FCC-ee lepton collider. Following the FCC concept, the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) in Beijing has initiated a parallel design study for an e + e − Higgs factory in China (CEPC), which is to be succeeded by a high-energy hadron collider (SPPC). At present a tunnel circumference of 54 km and a hadron collider c.m. energy of about 70 TeV are being considered. After a brief look at the LHC, this article reports the motivation and the present status of the FCC study, some of the primary design challenges and R&D subjects, as well as the emerging global collaboration.

Precision muon tracking detectors for high-energy hadron colliders

Small-diameter muon drift tube (sMDT) chambers with 15mm tube diameter are a cost-effective technology for high-precision muon tracking over large areas at high background rates as expected at future high-energy hadron colliders including HL-LHC. The chamber design and construction procedures have been optimised for mass production and provide sense wire positioning accuracy of better than 10μm. The rate capability of the sMDT chambers has been extensively tested at the CERN Gamma Irradiation Facility. It exceeds the one of the ATLAS muon drift tube (MDT) chambers, which are operated at unprecedentedly high background rates of neutrons and γ-rays, by an order of magnitude, which is sufficient for almost the whole of the muon detector acceptance at FCC-hh at maximum luminosity. sMDT operational and construction experience exists from ATLAS muon spectrometer upgrades which are in progress or under preparation for LHC Phase 1 and 2.

Two scales in Bose–Einstein correlations

We argue that the secondaries produced in high energy hadron collisions are emitted by small size sources distributed over a much larger area in impact parameter space occupied by the interaction amplitude. That is, Bose-Einstein correlation of two emitted identical particles should be described by a `two-radii' parametrization ansatz. We discuss the expected energy, charged multiplicity and transverse momentum of the pair (that is, $\sqrt{s},~N_{\rm ch}, k_t$) behaviour of both the small and large size components.

Comparative study between Glauber-Velasco and the Stochastic Vacuum models for high energy hadronic collision

The outlines of the Glauber-Velasco (GV) and the Stochastic Vacuum models (SVM) for describing pp elastic scattering are presented. The amplitudes and the cross-sections of both models are investigated and compared at √s = 7TeV. The asymptotic energy behaviour for the SVM is also studied.

Gluon contribution to open heavy-meson production in heavy-ion collisions

A sizable contribution to heavy quark production in high-energy hadronic and nuclear collisions comes from heavy quark-antiquark pair production from gluon splitting during the parton shower evolution. We investigate the effect of gluon-medium interaction on open heavy flavor spectra in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The interaction of hard gluons and heavy quarks with the hot QCD medium is simulated by utilizing a Langevin transport model that simultaneously incorporates contributions from collisional and radiative processes. It is found that while the gluon splitting channel has quite an important contribution to the single $D$ meson production cross section, its influence on the final heavy meson nuclear modification turns out to be quite modest because the average lifetime of hard gluons is short before splitting into heavy quark-antiquark pairs during the evolution and propagation of the parton shower.

Magnetic monopole search with the MoEDAL test trapping detector

IMoEDAL is designed to search for monopoles produced in high-energy Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collisions, based on two complementary techniques: nucleartrack detectors for high-ionisation signatures and other highly ionising avatars of new physics, and trapping volumes for direct magnetic charge measurements with a superconducting magnetometer. The MoEDAL test trapping detector array deployed in 2012, consisting of over 600 aluminium samples, was analysed and found to be consistent with zero trapped magnetic charge. Stopping acceptances are obtained from a simulation of monopole propagation in matter for a range of charges and masses, allowing to set modelindependent and model-dependent limits on monopole production cross sections. Multiples of the fundamental Dirac magnetic charge are probed for the first time at the LHC.