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Francois Arleo

Publications and source records attributed to Francois Arleo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Probing fragmentation functions from same-side hadron-jet momentum correlations in p-p collisions

A next-to-leading order (NLO) analysis of hadron-jet momentum correlations in p-p collisions at the LHC is carried out. We show that the inclusive charged hadron momentum distributions inside jets is a very sensitive observable which allows one to disentangle among various fragmentation function sets presently available. Correlations with identified hadrons (kaons, protons) are investigated as well.

hep-ph

Quenching of hadron and photon spectra in heavy-ion collisions from RHIC to LHC

The generic features of parton energy loss effects on the quenching of single hadron spectra in heavy-ion collisions are discussed, paying attention to the expected differences from RHIC to LHC. The need for precise baseline measurements in p-Pb collisions at the LHC is also emphasized. Finally I briefly mention the production of prompt photons in heavy-ion collisions as well as some open questions.

hep-ph

Inclusive prompt photon production in nuclear collisions at RHIC and LHC

Nuclear modification factors of inclusive prompt photon production in d-Au collisions at RHIC and p-Pb collisions at the LHC are provided at different rapidities. The calculations are performed at NLO accuracy using the EPS09 NLO nuclear parton distribution functions (nPDFs) and their error sets. The results are compared to the ones obtained with the nDS and HKN07 NLO nPDFs, and to the corresponding nuclear modification factors of neutral pion production in these collisions. The sensitivity of these results to the scale choice is also investigated. Interestingly, the predictions using the different nPDF sets differ from each other to the extent that this observable can be expected to become very useful for probing nPDFs over a wide range of Bjorken-x. In order to obtain a perturbative QCD baseline in heavy-ion collisions, calculations are carried out for minimum bias Au-Au collisions at RHIC and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC. We also estimate the maximal possible suppression which the produced QCD matter can be expected to have on inclusive prompt photon production due to the quenching of the fragmentation component. The nuclear modification factor for prompt photon production is thus suggested to be used for gauging both the cold and the hot nuclear matter effects on other hard processes which are expected to be affected by quark-gluon plasma formation, such as large-pT hadron and jet production.

hep-ph

Revisiting scaling properties of medium-induced gluon radiation

Discussing the general case of a hard partonic production process, we show that the notion of parton energy loss is not always sufficient to fully address medium-induced gluon radiation. The broader notion of gluon radiation associated to a hard process has to be used, in particular when initial and final state radiation amplitudes interfere, making the medium-induced radiated energy different from the energy loss of any well-identified parton. Our arguments are first presented in an abelian QED model, and then applied to large-xF quarkonium hadroproduction. In this case, we show that the medium-induced radiated energy is qualitatively similar (but not identical) to the radiative energy loss of an "asymptotic massive parton" undergoing transverse momentum broadening when travelling through the nucleus. In particular, it scales as the incoming parton energy, which suggests to reconsider gluon radiation as a possible explanation of large-xF quarkonium suppression in p-A collisions. We expect a similar effect in open heavy-flavour and possibly light-hadron hadroproduction at large xF, depending on the precise definition of the nuclear suppression factor in the latter case.

hep-ph

Higher-twist contributions to large pT hadron production in hadronic collisions

The scaling behavior of large-pT hadron production in hadronic collisions is investigated. A significant deviation from the NLO QCD predictions is reported, especially at high values of xT=2pT/sqrt(s). In contrast, the prompt photon and jet production data prove in agreement with leading-twist expectations. These results are interpreted as coming from a non-negligible contribution of higher-twist processes, where the hadron is produced directly in the hard subprocess. Predictions for scaling exponents at RHIC are successfully compared to PHENIX preliminary measurements. We suggest to trigger on isolated large-pT hadron production to enhance higher-twist processes, and point that the use of isolated hadrons as a signal for new physics at colliders can be affected by the presence of direct hadron production processes.

hep-ph

Single-inclusive production of large-pT charged particles in hadronic collisions at TeV energies and perturbative QCD predictions

The single inclusive spectrum of charged particles with transverse momenta pT=3-150 GeV/c measured at midrapidity by the CDF experiment in proton-antiproton (p-pbar) collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV is compared to next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD calculations using the most recent parametrizations of the parton distributions and parton-to-hadron fragmentation functions. Above pT~20 GeV/c, there is a very sizeable disagreement of the Tevatron data compared to the NLO predictions and to xT-scaling expectations, suggesting a problem in the experimental data. We also present the predictions for the pT-differential charged hadron spectra and the associated theoretical uncertainties for proton-proton (p-p) collisions at LHC energies (sqrt(s)=0.9-14 TeV). Two procedures to estimate the charged hadron spectra at LHC heavy-ion collision energies (sqrt(s)=2.76,5.5 TeV) from p-p measurements are suggested.

hep-ph

Higher-Twist Dynamics in Large Transverse Momentum Hadron Production

A scaling law analysis of the world data on inclusive large-pT hadron production in hadronic collisions is carried out. A significant deviation from leading-twist perturbative QCD predictions at next-to-leading order is reported. The observed discrepancy is largest at high values of xT=2pT/sqrt(s). In contrast, the production of prompt photons and jets exhibits the scaling behavior which is close to the conformal limit, in agreement with the leading-twist expectation. These results bring evidence for a non-negligible contribution of higher-twist processes in large-pT hadron production in hadronic collisions, where the hadron is produced directly in the hard subprocess rather than by gluon or quark jet fragmentation. Predictions for scaling exponents at RHIC and LHC are given, and it is suggested to trigger the isolated large-pT hadron production to enhance higher-twist processes.

hep-ph

Probing QCD (media) with prompt photons

The QCD phenomenology of prompt photon production from e-p to p-p/p-pbar and A-A collisions is reviewed. The use of prompt photons as a probe of (i) parton distribution functions (in a proton or in nuclei) as well as (ii) fragmentation functions (into photons and hadrons) and their medium-modifications is highlighted.

hep-ph

Collimation of average multiplicity in QCD jets

The collimation of average multiplicity inside quark and gluon jets is investigated in perturbative QCD in the modified leading logarithmic approximation (MLLA). The role of higher order corrections accounting for energy conservation and the running of the coupling constant leads to smaller multiplicity collimation as compared to leading logarithmic approximation (LLA) results. The collimation of jets produced in heavy-ion collisions has also been explored by using medium-modified splitting functions enhanced in the infrared sector. As compared to elementary collisions, the angular distribution of the jet multiplicity is found to broaden in QCD media at all energy scales.

hep-ph

Parton Propagation and Fragmentation in QCD Matter

We review recent progress in the study of parton propagation, interaction and fragmentation in both cold and hot strongly interacting matter. Experimental highlights on high-energy hadron production in deep inelastic lepton-nucleus scattering, proton-nucleus and heavy-ion collisions, as well as Drell-Yan processes in hadron-nucleus collisions are presented. The existing theoretical frameworks for describing the in-medium interaction of energetic partons and the space-time evolution of their fragmentation into hadrons are discussed and confronted to experimental data. We conclude with a list of theoretical and experimental open issues, and a brief description of future relevant experiments and facilities.

nucl-th

Global analysis of J/psi suppression in cold nuclear matter

Interpreting the J/psi suppression reported in nucleus--nucleus collisions at SPS and RHIC requires the quantitative understanding of cold nuclear matter effects, such as the inelastic rescattering of J/psi states in nuclei or the nuclear modification of parton densities. With respect to our former Glauber analysis, we include in the present work the new PHENIX d--Au measurements, and analyze as well all existing data using the EPS08 nuclear parton densities recently released. The largest suppression reported in the new PHENIX analysis leads in turn to an increase of sigma from 3.5 +/- 0.3 mb to 5.4 +/- 2.5 mb using proton PDF. The stronger x-dependence of the G^{A}/G^p ratio in EPS08 as compared to e.g. EKS98 shifts the cross section towards larger values at fixed target energies (x_2 ~ 0.1) while decreasing somehow the value extracted at RHIC (x_2 ~10^{-2}).

hep-ph

Single inclusive pion pT-spectra in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 22.4GeV: data versus perturbative QCD calculations

We compare the inclusive transverse momentum spectra of single pions above pT = 3 GeV/c measured in proton-proton (p-p) collisions at sqrt(s) = 21.7 - 23.8 GeV, with next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD (pQCD) predictions using recent parametrizations of the parton densities and parton-to-pion fragmentation functions. Although the dependence on the theoretical scales is large, the calculations can reproduce the experimental results both in magnitude and shape. Based on the existing data and on a pQCD $\sqrt{s}$-rescaling of the measured spectra, we provide a practical parametrization of the baseline p-p pion transverse momentum spectrum to be compared to nucleus-nucleus collisions data at sqrt(s_NN) = 22.4 GeV.

hep-ph

Probing gluon shadowing with forward photons at RHIC

There is a major need to better constrain nuclear parton densities in order to provide reliable perturbative QCD predictions at the LHC as well as to probe possible non-linear evolution at small values of x. In these proceedings, we discuss how the production of prompt photons at large rapidity in p-p and d-Au collisions at RHIC (sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV) is sensitive to the nuclear modifications of gluon distributions at x~0.001 and at rather low scales, Q^2~10 GeV^2. The nuclear production ratio, R_dAu=sigma(d+A->gamma+X)/(2A sigma(p+p->gamma X), is computed for isolated prompt photons at NLO using the nDSg nuclear parton densities, in order to assess the visibility of the signal. We also emphasise that the expected counting rates in a year of running at RHIC are large, indicating that R_dAu could be measured with a high statistical accuracy.

hep-ph

Measuring gluon shadowing with prompt photons at RHIC and LHC

The possibility to observe the nuclear modification of the gluon distribution at small-x (gluon shadowing) using high-p_T prompt photon production at RHIC and at LHC is discussed. The per-nucleon ratio, sigma(p+A -> gamma+X) / A sigma(p+p -> gamma+X), is computed for both inclusive and isolated prompt photons in perturbative QCD at NLO using different parametrizations of nuclear parton densities, in order to assess the visibility of the shadowing signal. The production of isolated photons turns out to be a promising channel which allows for a reliable extraction of the gluon density, G^A/G^p, and the structure function, F_2^A/F_2^p, in a nucleus over that in a proton. Moreover, the production ratio of prompt photons at forward-over-backward rapidity in p-A collisions provides an estimate of G^A/G^p (at small x) over F_2^A/F_2^p (at large x), without the need of p-p reference data at the same energy.

hep-ph

(medium-modified) Fragmentation Functions

In this short review paper, we discuss some of the recent advances in the field of parton fragmentation processes into hadrons as well as their possible modifications in QCD media. Hadron production data in e+e-, deep inelastic scattering and hadronic collisions are presented, together with global analyses of fragmentation functions into light and heavy hadrons and developments on parton fragmentation in perturbative QCD at small momentum fraction. Motivated by the recent RHIC data indicating a significant suppression of large-pT hadron production in heavy-ion collisions, several recent attempts to model medium-modified fragmentation, e.g. by solving "medium" evolution equations or through Monte Carlo studies, have been proposed and are discussed in detail. Finally we mention the possibility to extract medium-modified fragmentation functions using photon-hadron correlations.

hep-ph

Constraints on nuclear gluon densities from J/psi data

The gluon density in nuclei, G^A(x), is poorly constrained at all x from the current DIS and Drell-Yan data. In this paper, we point out that J/psi production measured in proton-nucleus collisions at sqrt(s)=38.8 GeV by the E866 collaboration puts stringent constraints on the x-dependence of the G^W/G^Be ratio in the x=0.02-0.1 range. The E866 data suggest a rather mild x-dependence of G^W/G^Be, and consequently tend to favour DS and HKM sets, rather than the DSg, EKS, and EPS parametrizations which exhibit a large shadowing and anti-shadowing.

hep-ph

Next-to-MLLA corrections to single inclusive kt-distributions and 2-particle correlations in a jet

The hadronic kt-spectrum inside a high energy jet is determined including corrections of relative magnitude O{\sqrt{α_s}} with respect to the Modified Leading Logarithmic Approximation (MLLA), in the limiting spectrum approximation (assuming an infrared cut-off Q0 =Lambda_{QCD}) and beyond Q_0\neΛ_{QCD}. The results in the limiting spectrum approximation are found to be, after normalization, in impressive agreement with preliminary measurements by the CDF collaboration, unlike what occurs at MLLA, pointing out small overall non-perturbative contributions. Within the same framework, 2-particle correlations inside a jet are also predicted at NMLLA and compared to previous MLLA calculations.

hep-ph