Energy-energy correlators inside single inclusive jets in heavy-ion collisions with CoLBT-hydro model

Abstract

The energy-energy correlator (EEC) inside jets is a sensitive observable for studying jet modification in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). However, its interpretation in heavy-ion collisions remains challenging, requiring a consistent understanding of jet evolution across multiple dynamical scales together with a proper treatment of the background subtraction. In this work, we employ an updated CoLBT-hydro framework in which a medium scale $Q_M$ = 2.0 GeV is introduced to separate the vacuum and in-medium stages of the parton shower, enabling a more self-consistent treatment of jet evolution. Using a theoretical background subtraction within the model, the resulting simulation reproduces the recent CMS measurement of the in-jet EEC, and through a decomposition of different contributions, highlights the impact of medium modification on the observable. To further validate the experimental procedure, we also implement the CMS mixed-event background-subtraction method directly in the simulation and find the results are consistent with those obtained with the theoretical background subtraction. Using $p_T$-ranked jets in each event, we further investigate the dependence of medium modification on the in-medium path length, reflected in the different EECs of leading and sub-leading jets. Finally, we explore the dependence of the leading-jet EEC on the dijet rapidity gap as a signal of the jet-induced diffusion wake.