arXiv subjects

Iurii Karpenko

Publications and source records attributed to Iurii Karpenko.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Spectator shadowing as the source of the breaking of NCQ scaling at RHIC-FXT and FAIR energies

The apparent scaling of the elliptic flow of identified hadrons with the number of constituent quarks indicates the presence of quark coalescence, and in turn suggests the presence of a deconfined state in heavy-ion collisions. Recent measurements at RHIC found a breaking of NCQ scaling at low energies and suggested that this marks the onset of partonic collectivity at higher energies. Here, we present a new framework embedding the effect of spectator shadowing into the flow scaling relations. Using a toy model with an idealized quark coalescence source and a ballistic Glauber model for the bypassing spectator, we demonstrate that the observed breaking is an effect of spectator shadowing.

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arXiv2026

Friction terms in multi-fluid description of heavy-ion collisions

In multi-fluid description of heavy-ion collisions, the primary scatterings and particle production are described in terms of interaction between fluids, so called friction. These friction terms can be derived from kinetic theory, but they are not unique. We compare different approaches to derive the friction terms, introduce a new ``charge transfer" friction, which allows to move charge to the midrapidity fireball, and implement them in the MUFFIN model. The charge transfer friction is more consistent with the assumption of three fluids clearly separated in momentum space, and allows better comparisons of the experimental data and underlying equation of state. It also leaves room for entropy generation due to dissipation in individual fluids, and we present the first results obtained using viscous multi-fluid dynamics.

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arXiv2026

Unshadowing the constituent quark number scaling of harmonic flow in heavy-ion collisions

Constituent quark number scaling of elliptic flow has been proposed as one key observable to identify the phase transition or the absence of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) in heavy-ion collisions. At the fixed target program at RHIC the STAR collaboration has recently reported that NCQ scaling breaks when decreasing the collision energy from $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 4.5$ to $3.0$ GeV. However, the generation of elliptic flow is dominated by a highly intricate interplay of spectator shadowing, squeeze-out and geometry dependent hadron emission governed by their cross sections. Therefore in this article we will disentangle the shadowing contribution from the harmonic flow signal of the particle emitting source, effectively ``unshadowing'' the source. We introduce Fourier coefficients that quantify the azimuthal absorption rate of hadrons decoupling from the system. We benchmark the derived results using a toy model based on a ballistic Glauber description of the penetrating nuclei and calculate how shadowing qualitatively alters the constituent quark number scaling of the hadron emitting source. The results are thus relevant for interpreting recent STAR measurements as well as the upcoming measurements by CBM at FAIR.

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arXiv2026

Pushing the hybrid approach to low beam energies with dynamic initial conditions from hadronic transport

While hybrid approaches of relativistic hydrodynamics+transport have been well established for the dynamical description of heavy-ion collisions at high beam energies, moving to lower beam energies is challenging. In this work, we propose dynamic initial conditions for the viscous hydrodynamic evolution in heavy-ion collisions at low to intermediate beam energies. They are comprised of core hadrons based on the local energy density during the pre-equilibrium hadronic evolution. The SMASH-vHLLE hybrid approach is then applied to lower beam energies, achieving good agreement with measured bulk observables between $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 3$ and $9.1\ \mathrm{GeV}$, thus providing guidance for measurements in STAR-BES and CBM at FAIR.

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arXiv2025

Imprints of dynamic fluidization on dilepton production

We present a newly developed hybrid hadronic transport + hydrodynamics framework geared towards heavy ion collisions at low to intermediate beam energies, and report on the resulting excitation function of dileptons. In this range of energies, it is unclear how to properly initialize the hydrodynamic evolution. Due to the cumulative electromagnetic radiation throughout the collision, dilepton observables are sensitive to the initial condition. In this work, we study how the dilepton ``thermometer'' is affected by employing dynamical initial conditions, in contrast to the traditional fixed-time approach.

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arXiv2025

Bayesian analysis of a (3+1)D hybrid approach with initial conditions from hadronic transport

This study aims to apply statistical learning, specifically Bayesian inference, to the (3+1)D SMASH-vHLLE-hybrid model using initial conditions generated by the SMASH transport code itself, with the objective of constraining model parameters and gaining deeper insight on the temperature and baryochemical potential dependence of both the shear and the bulk viscosity. This study is performed in the hybrid approach SMASH-vHLLE, composed of the hadronic transport approach SMASH and the (3+1)D viscous hydrodynamic code vHLLE. A Bayesian framework is employed, utilizing Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling to explore the parameter space. The analysis compares model predictions against experimental observables, including particle yields, momentum and flow coefficients both at midrapidity as well as in forward and backward direction. We find that the SMASH-vHLLE-hybrid framework, using hadronic initial conditions for Au+Au collisions at different beam energies, can reproduce a variety of experimental observables at midrapidity and forward/backward rapidities. Notably, the preferred posterior distribution suggests a near-vanishing specific shear viscosity in the high-temperature QGP phase, combined with moderate-to-large bulk viscosity around the phase transition region, although the constraints on baryochemical potential dependence are weak. Our findings reveal that a hadronic initial condition constrains the evolution more strictly at intermediate energies, making parameters such as the hydrodynamic onset time highly sensitive. Intriguingly, the extracted shear viscosity differs substantially from previous Bayesian analyses, motivating further systematic studies with higher-statistics data sets and refined modeling assumptions.

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arXiv2025

SUBA-Jet: a new Model for Jets in Heavy Ion Collisions

We present a new model for jet quenching in a quark gluon plasma (QGP). The jet energy loss has two steps. The initial jet parton with a high virtuality loses energy by a perturbative vacuum parton shower modified by medium interactions until it becomes on shell. Subsequent energy loss originates from elastic and radiative collisions with the medium constituents. Coherency of the radiative collisions is achieved by starting with virtual gluons that act as field dressing of the initial jet parton. These are formed according to a Gunion-Bertsch seed. The QCD version of the LPM effect is obtained by increasing the phase of the virtual gluons through elastic scatterings with the medium. Above a phase threshold, the virtual gluons will be formed and can produce coherent radiation themselves. The model has been implemented in a Monte Carlo code and is validated by successfully reproducing the BDMPS-Z prediction for the energy spectrum of radiated gluons in a static medium. Results for the more realistic case, in which the assumptions of the BDMPS-Z approach are released, are also shown. We investigate the influence of various parameters on the energy spectrum and the transverse momentum distribution, such as the in-medium quark masses, the energy transfer in the recoil process, and the phase accumulation criteria, especially for low and intermediate energy gluons.

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arXiv2024

Simulating collectivity in dense baryon matter with multiple fluids

We report on construction of a modern multi-fluid approach to heavy-ion collisions at FAIR/BES energies (MUFFIN) and show the reproduction of basic experimental observables in Au-Au collisions in the RHIC Beam Energy Scan program. We also show the $p_T$-differential and $p_T$-integrated polarization of (anti-)$Λ$ hyperons. In MUFFIN simulations, we observe a strong splitting between polarizations of $Λ$ and anti-$Λ$. The splitting is driven purely by a finite baryon chemical potential.

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arXiv2024

Next-generation multi-fluid hydrodynamic model for RHIC BES

We have developed a next-generation hybrid event-by-event three-fluid hydrodynamic model, suitable for simulations of heavy-ion collisions in the energy range from few up to tens of GeV per colliding NN pair. At such energies the interpenetration time of the nuclei is of the same order as the lifetime of the system, however this model treats the initial phase hydrodynamically. Thanks to that it is more sensitive to the Equation of State than 1-fluid models with initial states being parametrised or generated by transport approach. Hence, our model is well designed for simulations at collision energies, at which matter in vicinity of the QCD critical endpoint is expected. The construction of the model is explained and basic observables like hadron spectra in rapidity and transverse momentum, as well as elliptic flow are calculated.

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arXiv2024

$Λ$ polarization in very high energy heavy ion collisions as a probe of the Quark-Gluon Plasma formation and properties

We have studied the spin polarization of $Λ$ hyperons in heavy ion collisions at center-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV and $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV carried out at RHIC and LHC colliders. We have calculated the mean spin vector at local thermodynamic equilibrium, including all known first-order terms in the gradients of the thermo-hydrodynamic fields, assuming that the hadronization hypersurface has a uniform temperature. We have also included the feed-down contributions to the polarization of $Λ$ stemming from the decays of polarized $Σ^*$ and $Σ^0$ hyperons. The obtained results are in good agreement with the data. In general, the component of the spin vector along the global angular momentum, orthogonal to the reaction plane, shows strong sensitivity to the initial longitudinal flow velocity. Furthermore, the longitudinal component of the spin vector turns out to be very sensitive to the bulk viscosity of the plasma at the highest LHC energy. Therefore, the azimuthal dependence of spin polarization can effectively constrain the initial hydrodynamic conditions and the transport coefficients of the Quark Gluon Plasma.

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arXiv2024

Dense Nuclear Matter Equation of State from Heavy-Ion Collisions

The nuclear equation of state (EOS) is at the center of numerous theoretical and experimental efforts in nuclear physics. With advances in microscopic theories for nuclear interactions, the availability of experiments probing nuclear matter under conditions not reached before, endeavors to develop sophisticated and reliable transport simulations to interpret these experiments, and the advent of multi-messenger astronomy, the next decade will bring new opportunities for determining the nuclear matter EOS, elucidating its dependence on density, temperature, and isospin asymmetry. Among controlled terrestrial experiments, collisions of heavy nuclei at intermediate beam energies (from a few tens of MeV/nucleon to about 25 GeV/nucleon in the fixed-target frame) probe the widest ranges of baryon density and temperature, enabling studies of nuclear matter from a few tenths to about 5 times the nuclear saturation density and for temperatures from a few to well above a hundred MeV, respectively. Collisions of neutron-rich isotopes further bring the opportunity to probe effects due to the isospin asymmetry. However, capitalizing on the enormous scientific effort aimed at uncovering the dense nuclear matter EOS, both at RHIC and at FRIB as well as at other international facilities, depends on the continued development of state-of-the-art hadronic transport simulations. This white paper highlights the essential role that heavy-ion collision experiments and hadronic transport simulations play in understanding strong interactions in dense nuclear matter, with an emphasis on how these efforts can be used together with microscopic approaches and neutron star studies to uncover the nuclear EOS.

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arXiv2023

Simulating collectivity in dense baryon matter with multiple fluids

A novel three-fluid dynamical model for simulations of heavy-ion collisions at RHIC Beam Energy Scan programme, called MUFFIN, has been developed. The novelty consists of modular inclusion of the Equation of State, use of hyperbolic coordinates that allow to simulate higher collision energies, and fluctuating initial conditions. The model reproduces rapidity and $p_t$ spectra of collisions from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=7.7 to 62.4 GeV. Ideal fluid is assumed, and the elliptic flow is over-predicted, particularly at lower collision energies.

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arXiv2023

Directed flow and hyperon polarization at RHIC BES from multi-fluid dynamics

We present directed flow of protons and pions, as well as mean polarization of $Λ$ and $\barΛ$ hyperons computed for Au-Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=5...19.6$ GeV in MUFFIN model. MUlti Fluid simulation for Fast IoN collisions, or MUFFIN, is a state-of-the-art 3-fluid dynamic model for simulating heavy-ion collisions in the region from a few to a hundred GeV center-of-mass energy. Whereas MUFFIN succeeds to reproduce basic observables in the collision energy range of interest, the slope of the directed flow at mid-rapidity is much steeper as compared to the data, it has unclear EoS dependence and final-state hadronic cascade affects this observable significantly. The excitation function of the $Λ$ polarization shows a significant splitting between polarizations of $Λ$ and $\barΛ$, which challenges a widespread interpretation that the splitting is affected mainly by the late-stage magnetic field.

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arXiv2023

A New Model for Jet Energy Loss in Heavy Ion Collisions

We present a new model for jet quenching from coherent radiation in a brick medium. The jet energy loss is simulated as a perturbative final-state vacuum parton shower followed by a medium-induced shower originating from elastic and radiative collisions with the medium constituents. Coherency is achieved by starting with trial gluons that act as field dressing of the initial jet parton. These are formed according to a Gunion-Bertsch seed. The QCD version of the LPM effect is attained by increasing the phase of the trial gluons through elastic scatterings with the medium. Above a phase threshold, the trial gluons will be realised and can produce coherent radiation themselves. The model has been implemented in a Monte Carlo code and has been validated by successfully reproducing the BDMPS-Z prediction for the energy spectrum. The realistic case with minimal assumptions are also produced and shown. In particular, we show the influence of various parameters on the energy spectrum and transverse momentum distribution, such as the in-medium quark masses, the energy transfer in the recoil process, and the phase accumulation criteria, especially for low and intermediate energy gluons. Future studies will allow for the interface with full simulations of the quark-gluon-plasma with hydrodynamic evolution, such as vHLLE, along with subsequent hadronisation of the jet partons in order to produce realistic distributions that can be directly compared to LHC and RHIC data.

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arXiv2023

Particle production in a hybrid approach for a beam energy scan of Au+Au/Pb+Pb collisions between $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 4.3 GeV and $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 200.0 GeV

Heavy-ion collisions at varying collision energies provide access to different regions of the QCD phase diagram. In particular collisions at intermediate energies are promising candidates to experimentally identify the postulated first order phase transition and critical end point. While heavy-ion collisions at low and high collision energies are theoretically well described by transport approaches and hydrodynamics+transport hybrid approaches, respectively, intermediate energy collisions remain a challenge. In this work, a modular hybrid approach, the SMASH-vHLLE-hybrid coupling 3+1D viscous hydrodynamics (vHLLE) to hadronic transport (SMASH), is introduced. It is validated and subsequently applied in Au+Au/Pb+Pb collisions between $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 4.3 GeV and $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 200.0 GeV to study the rapidity and transverse mass distributions of identified particles as well as excitation functions for $\mathrm{dN}/\mathrm{d}y|_{y = 0}$ and $\langle p_\mathrm{T} \rangle$. A good agreement with experimental measurements is obtained, including the baryon stopping dynamics. The transition from a Gaussian rapidity spectrum of protons at lower energies to the double-hump structure at high energies is reproduced. The centrality and energy dependence of charged particle $v_2$ is also described reasonably well. This work serves as a basis for further studies, e.g. systematic investigations of different equations of state or transport coefficients.

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arXiv2022

Local equilibrium and Lambda polarization in high energy heavy ion collisions

The polarization of the $Λ$ hyperon has become an important probe of the Quark-Gluon Plasma produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Recently, it has been found that polarization receives a substantial contribution from a local equilibrium term proportional to the symmetric derivative of the four-temperature vector, the thermal shear tensor. We show that, at very high energies, this term can restore the agreement between the experimental measurements and the predictions of the hydrodynamic model, provided that the hadronization hypersurface is isothermal. We review the theoretical derivation of this new term, discuss numerical computations at RHIC and LHC energies, and compare them with the experimental data. We also present the effect of feed-down corrections.

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arXiv2022

Bulk pressure in fluid-dynamical simulations of Pb-Pb and p-Pb collisions at the LHC energies

State-of-the-art fluid dynamical simulations of relativistic heavy-ion collisions employ initial state models which result in a rather strong radial flow. In order to fit the experimental observables, a non-negligible bulk viscosity of the QGP and/or hadronic matter is required. We examine modern parametrizations of the bulk viscosity to entropy density ratio $ζ/s$ used in recent fluid dynamical simulations, and explore the relative magnitude of the associated bulk viscous corrections in space-time, for Pb-Pb and p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76$ TeV LHC energy with a state-of-the-art initial state provided by TRENTo model. It turns out that, at a typical particlization hypersurface, the effect of bulk viscosity out-competes the one of shear viscosity, and in a significantly large part of the space-time volume, the bulk pressure strongly counteracts the equilibrium pressure, thus the effective pressure approaches zero. The latter potentially challenges the applicability of fluid-dynamical modelling of heavy ion-ion and proton-ion collisions at the LHC energies.

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arXiv2022

Flow decorrelation in heavy-ion collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$=27 and 200 GeV with 3D event-by-event viscous hydrodynamics

We present the first calculation of longitudinal decorrelation of anisotropic flow at RHIC Beam Energy Scan (BES) energies using event-by-event viscous hydrodynamic model (vHLLE), with two different initial states (GLISSANDO2 and UrQMD) and hadronic cascade. We investigate the origin of the observed decorrelation by checking separately flow angle and flow magnitude decorrelation and by calculating decorrelation in the initial state eccentricity.

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