Non-central Heavy-ion Collisions Research Articles

Hanbury-Brown–Twiss signature for clustered substructures probing primordial inhomogeneity in hot and dense QCD matter

We propose a novel approach to probe primordial inhomogeneity in hot and dense matter which could be realized in noncentral heavy-ion collisions. Although the Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) interferometry is commonly used to infer the system size, the cluster size should be detected if substructures emerge in space. We demonstrate that a signal peak in the HBT two-particle correlation stands at the relative momentum corresponding to the spatial scale of pseudo one-dimensional modulation. We assess detectability using the data prepared by an event generator (AMPT model) with clustering implemented in the particle distribution. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Anisotropy of magnetized quark matter

Strong transient magnetic fields are generated in noncentral relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These fields induce anisotropy within the strongly interacting medium that, in principle, can affect the thermodynamic properties of the medium. We use the Polyakov loop extended Nambu Jona-Lasinio model to study the quark matter subjected to an external magnetic field at vanishing baryon chemical potential (μB). We have estimated the degree of anisotropy in the speed of sound and isothermal compressibility within the magnetized quark matter as a function of temperature (T) and magnetic field (). This study helps us to understand the extent of directionality generated in the initial stages of noncentral collisions while giving us useful information about the system. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Quantum vortex phases of charged pion condensates induced by rotation in a magnetic field

Using the relativistic complex scalar field model with a repulsive self-interaction, we discuss the ground state structure of charged pion condensation under the coexistence of parallel rotation and magnetic field. Our previous study found that the density distribution profile of the condensates is a supergiant quantum vortex phase and change with rotational speed and coupling constant. In this work, we further discover vortex lattice structures in the condensates under conditions of small rotation and strong coupling constant. This mechanism can be thought of as electrical superconductivity: Vortex lattices are created to better adapt to changes in rotation and interaction. Furthermore, large rotation and weak coupling constant are more likely to cause the vortex lattices to be destroyed and form a giant quantum vortex similar to a doughnut. We expect this phenomenon can be observed in the relativistic noncentral heavy ion collisions with large rotation and strong magnetic field. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Non-perturbative suppression of chiral vortical effect in hot (s)QGP for hyperons spin polarization in heavy ion collisions

With the field correlator method (FCM) for QCD, we show that the chiral vortical effect (CVE) in hot (strongly-interacting) quark-gluon plasma ((s)QGP) is modified by non-perturbative interactions – by color-magnetic confinement, and by remnant color-electric interaction, which is encoded in the Polyakov line. The obtained result demonstrates numerical suppression of CVE comparable to the phenomenological suppression used for numerical simulations of RHIC-STAR data on hyperons spin polarization in non-central heavy ion collision (HIC). The parameters range in the temperature – quark chemical potential plane is expected to cover ALICE and RHIC data. The chiral current is calculated for the rigidly rotating model of (s)QGP in the linear order in angular velocity at the rotation axis with account of non-perturbative interactions.

Thermal conductivity of evolving quark-gluon plasma in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field

The effect of the temperature evolution of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) on its thermal conductivity and elliptic flow is investigated here in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field. Thermal conductivity plays a vital role in the cooling rate of the medium or its temperature evolution. The magnetic field produced during the early stages of (noncentral) heavy-ion collisions decays with time, where electrical conductivity plays a significant role. As the medium expands, the electrical and thermal properties change, reflecting the effect in various observables. In this study, we have calculated the thermal conductivity of the QGP medium, incorporating the effects of temperature and magnetic field evolution. We discovered that conductivity significantly depends on the cooling rate, and its value increases due to temperature evolution. Furthermore, the influence of these evolutions on the elliptic flow coefficient is measured, and elliptic flow decreases due to the evolution. We also extend our study for the case of Gubser flow, where, along with the longitudinal Bjorken expansion, the radially transverse expansion is also present. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Search for anomalous chiral effects in heavy-ion collisions with ALICE

The interplay between the chiral anomaly and the strong magnetic or vortical fields created in noncentral heavy-ion collisions can lead to various anomalous chiral effects in the quark–gluon plasma, including the chiral magnetic effect (CME), the chiral magnetic wave (CMW), and the chiral vortical effect (CVE). In this proceeding, recent ALICE measurements of these effects are summarized. Utilizing Event Shape Engineering, fractions of CME and CMW signals extracted in Pb–Pb collisions at √SNN = 5.02 TeV are consistent with zero within uncertainties. The CVE is studied using azimuthal correlations between baryon pair Λ–p with Λ–h and h–h as reference. These measurements provide new insights into the experimental search for anomalous chiral effects in heavy-ion collisions.

Vector meson polarisation in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC

Heavy quarks, i.e. charm and beauty, are produced in the initial stage of heavy-ion collisions, on a time scale shorter than the medium formation time, and are sensitive to the large initial magnetic field produced perpendicular to the reaction plane, defined by the impact parameter direction and beam direction, in non-central heavy-ion collisions. In the presence of a large initial magnetic field, the charm quark can be polarised. The quark polarisation is then expected to be transferred to the hadron in the hadronisation process. We will present the first measurement of D*+ polarisation in Pb–Pb collisions at √SNN = 5.02 TeV, exploiting the large data sample collected by the ALICE Collaboration during the LHC Run 2 and we will compare these new results with the existing J/ψ polarisation measurements.

Recent charmonium measurements in Pb–Pb collisions with ALICE

Charmonia have long been recognized as a valuable probe of the nuclear matter in extreme conditions, the strongly interacting medium created in heavy-ion collisions known as quark-gluon plasma (QGP). At LHC energies, the (re-)generation process due to the abundantly produced charm quarks, was found to considerably affect measured charmonium observables. Comprehensive production measurements of charmonia, including both ground and excited states, are crucial to discriminate among different (re-)generation scenarios assumed in theoretical calculations. In addition, the spin-alignment of charmonia can be affected by the strong magnetic field and the large angular momentum of the medium in non-central heavy-ion collisions. Finally, the non-prompt charmonium, grants a direct insight into the nuclear modification factor of beauty hadrons, which is expected to be sensitive to the energy loss experienced by the ancestor beauty quarks inside the QGP. In this contribution, newly published results of inclusive, prompt and non-prompt J/ψ production, obtained in Pb–Pb collisions at √SNN = 5.02 TeV, are presented. Recently published results of J/ψ polarization with respect to the event plane at forward rapidity in Pb–Pb collisions at √SNN = 5.02 TeV are also discussed. Results are compared to available model calculations.

Inhomogeneity of a rotating quark-gluon plasma from holography

Rotation affects the transition temperature between confined (hadronic) and deconfined (quark-gluon plasma) phases of the strongly interacting matter produced in non-central heavy ion collisions. A holographic description of this effect was presented recently, considering an AdS black hole with cylindrical symmetry in rotation. Here we extend this approach in order to analyse the more realistic case of strongly interacting matter that, rather than living in a cylindrical shell, spreads over a region around the rotational axis. In this case, the confined and deconfined phases may coexist. The holographic description of the plasma behaviour under rotation is shown to be consistent with the concept of local temperature for rotating frames developed by Tolman and Ehrenfest.

First measurement of prompt and non-prompt D⁎+ vector meson spin alignment in pp collisions at [formula omitted] TeV

This letter reports the first measurement of spin alignment, with respect to the helicity axis, for D⁎+ vector mesons and their charge conjugates from charm-quark hadronisation (prompt) and from beauty-meson decays (non-prompt) in hadron collisions. The measurements were performed at midrapidity (|y|<0.8) as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in proton–proton (pp) collisions collected by ALICE at the centre-of-mass energy s=13TeV. The diagonal spin density matrix element ρ00 of D⁎+ mesons was measured from the angular distribution of the D⁎+→D0(→K−π+)π+ decay products, in the D⁎+ rest frame, with respect to the D⁎+ momentum direction in the pp centre of mass frame. The ρ00 value for prompt D⁎+ mesons is consistent with 1/3, which implies no spin alignment. However, for non-prompt D⁎+ mesons an evidence of ρ00 larger than 1/3 is found. The measured value of the spin density element is ρ00=0.455±0.022(stat.)±0.035(syst.) in the 5<pT<20GeV/c interval, which is consistent with a Pythia 8 Monte Carlo simulation coupled with the EvtGen package, which implements the helicity conservation in the decay of D⁎+ meson from beauty mesons. In non-central heavy-ion collisions, the spin of the D⁎+ mesons may be globally aligned with the direction of the initial angular momentum and magnetic field. Based on the results for pp collisions reported in this letter it is shown that alignment of non-prompt D⁎+ mesons due to the helicity conservation coupled to the collective anisotropic expansion may mimic the signal of global spin alignment in heavy-ion collisions.

Hadron gas in the presence of a magnetic field using non-extensive statistics: a transition from diamagnetic to paramagnetic system

Non-central heavy-ion collisions at ultra-relativistic energies are unique in producing magnetic fields of the largest strength in the laboratory. Such fields being produced at the early stages of the collision could affect the properties of Quantum Chromodynamics matter formed in the relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The transient magnetic field leaves its reminiscence, which in principle, can affect the thermodynamic and transport properties of the final state dynamics of the system. In this work, we study the thermodynamic properties of a hadron gas in the presence of an external static magnetic field using a thermodynamically consistent non-extensive Tsallis distribution function. Various thermodynamical observables such as energy density (ϵ), entropy density (s), pressure (P) and speed of sound (c s) are studied. Investigation of magnetization (M) is also performed and this analysis reveals an interplay of diamagnetic and paramagnetic nature of the system in the presence of a magnetic field of varying strength. Further, to understand the system dynamics under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions, the effect of the non-extensive parameter (q) on the above observables is also studied.

Production of magnetic field due to heavy ion collisions around transition energy

Isospin quantum molecular dynamics (IQMD) model is a reliable computational tool for the study of various phenomena (multi fragmentation, anisotropic flow, nuclear stopping) from low to intermediate heavy ion collisions (HICs). Here, simulation has been carried out for the magnetic field generated during non-central HICs using the IQMD model. The effect of various parameters, such as centrality, angular momentum, rapidity and incident energy has been thoroughly investigated on the magnetic field with the evolution of time and space. It has been observed that the rapidity bin significantly impacts the magnitude of the magnetic field in different directions. Furthermore, the magnetic field produced during HIC leads to a notable impact on the in-plane momentum of the proton and neutron.

Evolution of global polarization in relativistic heavy-ion collisions within a perturbative approach

Extremely large angular orbital momentum can be produced in non-central heavy-ion collisions, leading to a strong transverse polarization of partons that scatter through the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) due to spin-orbital coupling. We develop a perturbative approach to describe the formation and spacetime evolution of quark polarization inside the QGP. Polarization from both the initial hard scatterings and interactions with the QGP have been consistently described using the quark-potential scattering approach, which has been coupled to realistic initial condition calculation and the subsequent (3+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamic simulation of the QGP for the first time. Within this improved approach, we have found that different spacetime-rapidity-dependent initial energy density distributions generate different time evolution profiles of the longitudinal flow velocity gradient of the QGP, which further lead to an approximately 15% difference in the final polarization of quarks collected on the hadronization hypersurface of the QGP. Therefore, in addition to the collective flow coefficients, the hyperon polarization may serve as a novel tool to help constrain the initial condition of the hot nuclear matter created in high-energy nuclear collisions.

Spin-orbital coupling in strong interaction and global spin polarization

In non-central relativistic heavy ion collisions, the colliding nuclear system possesses a huge global orbital angular momentum in the direction opposite to the normal of the reaction plane. Due to the spin-orbit coupling in strong interaction, such a huge orbital angular momentum leads to a global spin polarization of the quark matter system produced in the collision process. The global polarization effect in high energy heavy ion collisions was first predicted theoretically and confirmed by STAR experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in Brookhaven National Laboratory. The discovery has attracted much attention to the study of spin effects in heavy ion collision and leads to a new direction in high energy heavy ion physics—Spin Physics in Heavy Ion Collisions. In this paper, we briefly review the original ideas, the calculation methods, the main results and recent theoretical developments in last years. First, we present a short discussion of the spin-orbit coupling which is an intrinsic property for a relativistic fermionic quantum system. Then we review how the global orbital angular momentum can be generated in non-central heavy ion collisions and how the global orbital angular momentum can be transferred to the local orbital angular momentum distribution in two limit model---Landan fireball model and Bjorken scaling model. After that, we review how we can describe the scattering process with initial local orbital angular momentum in the formalism of scattering cross section in impact parameter space and how we calculate the polarization of the quarks and antiquarks in quark gluon plasma produced in non-central heavy ion collisions after single or multiple scattering. We also give a brief review on how the global polarization can be predicted from the formalism of relativistic hydrodynamics with the generalized Cooper-Frye formula with spin. Finally, we discuss how the quark's polarization can be transferred to the final hadron's polarization. We focus on the hyperon's polarization and vector meson's spin alignment produced in heavy-ion collisions.

Measurements of quarkonium production and polarization in Pb–Pb collisions with ALICE

Quarkonia are excellent probes of deconfinement in heavy-ion collisions. For J/ψ, a bound state of cc¯ quarks, the (re-)generation is found to be the dominant production mechanism at the LHC energies. Production measurements of non-prompt J/ψ, originating from beauty-hadron decays, allow one to access the interaction of beauty-quarks with the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Polarization and spin alignment measurements can be used to investigate the characteristics of the formed medium. Moreover, it has been hypothesized that quarkonium states can be polarized by the strong magnetic field generated in the initial state of the collision and by the large angular momentum of the medium in non-central heavy-ion collisions. In these proceedings, the measurements of the inclusive, prompt, and non-prompt J/ψ nuclear modification factor RAA in Pb–Pb collisions at √SNN = 5.02 TeV are shown. The measured non-prompt J/ψ fraction extends down to very low pT with a significantly improved precision compared to previous publications. The results from the first publication on the J/ψ polarization with respect to the event-plane in Pb–Pb collisions at √SNN = 5.02 TeV at forward rapidity are presented as well. The results are compared with available calculations.

The direct flow of charged particles and the global polarization of hyperons in 200 AGeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC

In non-central relativistic heavy-ion collisions, the non-colliding nucleons drag the colliding nucleons along the longitudinal direction asymmetrically, producing a longitudinally tilted quark-gluon plasma (QGP) fireball. Meanwhile, these colliding nuclei deposit a huge initial orbital angular momentum into the system, leading to the polarization of partons inside the QGP along the direction of the total angular momentum. Based on the optical Glauber model, we develop a 3-dimensional initial condition of the tilted QGP. By combining it with the (3+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamic model CLVisc, we investigate the directed flow of charged hadrons and the global polarization of &lt;inline-formula&gt;&lt;tex-math id="M2"&gt;\begin{document}$ \Lambda/\bar{\Lambda} $\end{document}&lt;/tex-math&gt;&lt;alternatives&gt;&lt;graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="7-20222391_M2.jpg"/&gt;&lt;graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="7-20222391_M2.png"/&gt;&lt;/alternatives&gt;&lt;/inline-formula&gt; hyperons in heavy-ion collisions. Our calculation indicates that the combination of a tilted initial condition of the QGP and the hydrodynamic model can provide a satisfactory description of the directed flow and global polarization observed at RHIC-STAR. This offers a theoretical baseline for using these observables to further constrain the initial geometry and kinematic properties of the nuclear matter created in heavy-ion collisions.

Rescattering effect on the measurement of K*0 spin alignment in heavy-ion collisions

Spin alignment of vector mesons in noncentral relativistic heavy-ion collisions provides a novel probe of the global quark polarization and hadronization mechanism. In this paper, we discuss the spin alignment of a short-lived vector meson, namely ${K}^{*0}$, arising from the hadronic rescattering process using the UrQMD model. This spin alignment is not related to global quark polarization but cannot be distinguished from those arising from global quark polarization in experiment. The spin alignment parameter ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{00}$ is found to deviate from 1/3 by up to $\ensuremath{-}0.008$ (0.03) with respect to the reaction (production) plane. These deviations are much larger than the expected signal from all the theoretical models implementing the conventional global quark polarization mechanism as well as the current experimental precision, and should be considered seriously when comparing measurements with theoretical calculations.

Production of twisted particles in heavy-ion collisions

A prevalence of production of twisted (vortex) particles in noncentral heavy-ion collisions is shown. In such collisions, photons emitted due to the rotation of charges are highly twisted. Charged particles are produced in nonspreading multiwave states and have significant orbital angular momenta. It can be expected that an emission of any twisted particles manifesting themselves in specific effects is rather ubiquitous.

Anisotropic Flows of Charmonium in the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

We review recent studies about anisotropic flows (v1,v2,v3) of charmonium in the quark-gluon plasma produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Collective flows of the bulk medium are developed due to the anisotropic pressure gradient of the medium. Strongly coupled with the bulk medium, charm quarks carry collective flows from the expanding medium, which will be inherited by the regenerated charmonium via the coalescence process. In event-by-event collisions where nucleon positions fluctuate from the smooth distribution, there is triangularity in the medium initial energy density. Triangular flows of the bulk medium and heavy flavor particles can be developed due to the initial fluctuations. In the longitudinal direction, the rapidity-odd distribution of the initial energy density is induced by the rotation of the medium in non-central heavy-ion collisions. Charmonium suffers biased dissociation along positive and negative x-directions in forward (backward) rapidity. The directed flow of charmonium becomes non-zero. The directed, elliptic and triangular flows (v1,v2,v3) of charmonium come from the anisotropic initial distributions of the medium energy density in the transverse and longitudinal directions.

Event-by-event jet anisotropy and hard-soft tomography of the quark-gluon plasma

Suppression of jet spectra or jet quenching in high-energy heavy-ion collisions is caused by jet energy loss in the dense medium. The azimuthal anisotropy of jet energy loss in noncentral heavy-ion collisions can lead to finite values of jet anisotropic flow coefficients. This is investigated within the linear Boltzmann transport model, which simulates both elastic scattering and medium-induced gluon radiation based on perturbative quantum chromodynamics for jet shower and medium recoil partons as well as radiated gluons as they propagate through the quark-gluon plasma. The dynamical evolution of the quark-gluon plasma in each event of heavy-ion collisions is provided by the $(3+1)$-dimensional CLVisc hydrodynamic model with fully fluctuating initial conditions. This framework has been shown to well describe the suppression of single inclusive jet spectra. We calculate in this study the elliptic $({v}_{2}^{\mathrm{jet}})$ and triangular $({v}_{3}^{\mathrm{jet}})$ anisotropy coefficients of the single inclusive jet spectra in $\text{Pb}+\text{Pb}$ collisions at the Large Hadron Collider energies. We investigate the colliding energy, centrality, jet transverse momentum dependence of the jet anisotropy, as well as their event-by-event correlation with the flow coefficients of the soft bulk hadrons. An approximate linear correlation between jet and bulk ${v}_{2}$ is found. The effect of the bulk ${v}_{n}$ fluctuation on ${v}_{n}^{\mathrm{jet}}$ is found negligible. We also investigate the effect of jet-induced medium excitation, which is influenced by radial flow, on jet ${v}_{2}^{\mathrm{jet}}$. The sensitivity of jet elliptic anisotropy ${v}_{2}^{\mathrm{jet}}$ to the shear viscosity of the bulk medium is also studied.