Information field based global Bayesian inference of the jet transport coefficient

Abstract

Bayesian statistical inference is a powerful tool for model-data comparisons and extractions of physical parameters that are often unknown functions of system variables. Existing Bayesian analyses often rely on explicit parametrizations of the unknown function. It can introduce long-range correlations that impose fictitious constraints on physical parameters in regions of the variable space that are not probed by the experimental data. We develop an information field (IF) approach to modeling the prior distribution of the unknown function that is free of long-range correlations. We apply the IF approach to the first global Bayesian inference of the jet transport coefficient $\hat q$ as a function of temperature ($T$) from all existing experimental data on single-inclusive hadron, di-hadron and $\gamma$-hadron spectra in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and LHC energies. The extracted $\hat q/T^3$ exhibits a strong $T$-dependence as a result of the progressive constraining power when data from more central collisions and at higher colliding energies are incrementally included. The IF method guarantees that the extracted $T$-dependence is not biased by a specific functional form.