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P. Zhuang

Publications and source records attributed to P. Zhuang.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Heavy-flavor production and medium properties in high-energy nuclear collisions - What next?

Open and hidden heavy-flavor physics in high-energy nuclear collisions are entering a new and exciting stage towards reaching a clearer understanding of the new experimental results with the possibility to link them directly to the advancement in lattice Quantum Chromo-dynamics (QCD). Recent results from experiments and theoretical developments regarding open and hidden heavy-flavor dynamics have been debated at the Lorentz Workshop "Tomography of the quark-gluon plasma with heavy quarks}, which was held in October 2016 in Leiden, the Netherlands. In this contribution, we summarize identified common understandings and developed strategies for the upcoming five years, which aim at achieving a profound knowledge of the dynamical properties of the quark-gluon plasma.

nucl-th

Heavy ions at the Future Circular Collider

The Future Circular Collider (FCC) Study is aimed at assessing the physics potential and the technical feasibility of a new collider with centre-of-mass energies, in the hadron-hadron collision mode, seven times larger than the nominal LHC energies. Operating such machine with heavy ions is an option that is being considered in the accelerator design studies. It would provide, for example, Pb-Pb and p-Pb collisions at sqrt{s_NN} = 39 and 63 TeV, respectively, per nucleon-nucleon collision, with integrated luminosities above 30 nb^-1 per month for Pb-Pb. This is a report by the working group on heavy-ion physics of the FCC Study. First ideas on the physics opportunities with heavy ions at the FCC are presented, covering the physics of the Quark-Gluon Plasma, of gluon saturation, of photon-induced collisions, as well as connections with other fields of high-energy physics.

hep-ph

Heavy-flavour and quarkonium production in the LHC era: from proton-proton to heavy-ion collisions

This report reviews the study of open heavy-flavour and quarkonium production in high-energy hadronic collisions, as tools to investigate fundamental aspects of Quantum Chromodynamics, from the proton and nucleus structure at high energy to deconfinement and the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma. Emphasis is given to the lessons learnt from LHC Run 1 results, which are reviewed in a global picture with the results from SPS and RHIC at lower energies, as well as to the questions to be addressed in the future. The report covers heavy flavour and quarkonium production in proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions. This includes discussion of the effects of hot and cold strongly interacting matter, quarkonium photo-production in nucleus-nucleus collisions and perspectives on the study of heavy flavour and quarkonium with upgrades of existing experiments and new experiments. The report results from the activity of the SaporeGravis network of the I3 Hadron Physics programme of the European Union 7th Framework Programme.

nucl-ex

Undersaturation of quarks at early stages of relativistic nuclear collisions: the hot glue initial scenario and its observable signatures

The early stage of high multiplicity nuclear collisions is represented by a nearly quarkless, hot, deconfined pure gluon plasma. This new scenario should be characterized by a suppression of high $p_T$ photons and dileptons as well as by reduced baryon to meson ratios. We present the numerical results for central Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC energies by using the ideal Bjorken hydrodynamics with time-dependent quark fugacity. It is shown that about 25\% of final total entropy is generated during the hydrodynamic evolution of chemically undersaturated quark-gluon plasma.

hep-ph

The effect of partonic wind on charm quark correlations in high-energy nuclear collisions

In high-energy collisions, massive heavy quarks are produced back-to-back initially and they are sensitive to early dynamical conditions. The strong collective partonic wind from the fast expanding quark-gluon plasma created in high-energy nuclear collisions modifies the correlation pattern significantly. As a result, the angular correlation function for D$\bar{\rm D}$ pairs is suppressed at the angle $Δϕ=π$. While the hot and dense medium in collisions at RHIC ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV) can only smear the initial back-to-back D$\bar {\rm D}$ correlation, a clear and strong near side D$\bar{\rm D}$ correlation is expected at LHC ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5500$ GeV).

nucl-th

D-Dbar Correlations as a sensitive probe for thermalization in high-energy nuclear collisions

We propose to measure azimuthal correlations of heavy-flavor hadrons to address the status of thermalization at the partonic stage of light quarks and gluons in high-energy nuclear collisions. In particular, we show that hadronic interactions at the late stage cannot significantly disturb the initial back-to-back azimuthal correlations of DDbar pairs. Thus, a decrease or the complete absence of these initial correlations does indicate frequent interactions of heavy-flavor quarks and also light partons in the partonic stage, which are essential for the early thermalization of light partons.

hep-ph

DDbar Correlations probing Thermalization in High-Energy Nuclear Collisions

We propose to measure azimuthal correlations of heavy-flavor hadrons to address the status of thermalization at the partonic stage of light quarks and gluons in high-energy nuclear collisions. In particular, we show that hadronic interactions at the late stage cannot significantly disturb the initial back-to-back azimuthal correlations of DDbar pairs. Thus, a decrease or the complete absence of these initial correlations does indicate frequent interactions of heavy-flavor quarks and also light partons in the partonic stage, which are essential for the early thermalization of light partons.

nucl-ex

Thermal and Nonthermal Pion Enhancements with Chiral Symmetry Restoration

The pion production by sigma decay and its relation with chiral symmetry restoration in a hot and dense matter are investigated in the framework of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. The decay rate for the process sigma -> 2pion to the lowest order in a 1/N_c expansion is calculated as a function of temperature T and chemical potential mu. The thermal and nonthermal enhancements of pions generated by the decay before and after the freeze-out present only in the crossover region of the chiral symmetry transition. The strongest nonthermal enhancement is located in the vicinity of the endpoint of the first-order transition.

nucl-th

Sigma Decay at Finite Temperature and Density

Sigma decay and its relation with chiral phase transition are discussed at finite temperature and density in the framework of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. The decay rate for the process sigma -> 2 pions to first order in a 1/N_c expansion is calculated as a function of temperature T and baryon density n_b. In particular, only when the chiral phase transition happens around the tricritical point, the sigma decay results in a non-thermal enhancement of pions in the final state distributions in relativistic heavy ion collisions.

nucl-th

Density Effect on Hadronization of a Quark Plasma

The hadronization cross section in a quark plasma at finite temperature and density is calculated in the framework of Nambu--Jona-lasinio model with explicit chiral symmetry breaking. In apposition to the familiar temperature effect, the quark plasma at high density begins to hadronize suddenly. It leads to a sudden and strong increase of final state pions in relativistic heavy ion collisions which may be considered as a clear signature of chiral symmetry restoration.

nucl-th

Thermalization of a Quark-Gluon Plasma

The thermalization time for a Quark-Gluon-Plasma is estimated from a quantum transport model beyond the quasi-particle approach (or kinetic gas theory). While our ansatz is crude concerning the properties of ''real'' quarks and gluons, it nevertheless takes very serious the basic principles of quantum field theory for non-equilibrium states. It is found, that the thermalization time obtained from quantum transport theory is substantially longer than from kinetic theory. In our view this casts some doubts on scenarios which a priori assume a thermalized quark gluon plasma.

hep-ph

Relativistic Quantum Transport Theory for Electrodynamics

We investigate the relationship between the covariant and the three-dimensional (equal-time) formulations of quantum kinetic theory. We show that the three-dimensional approach can be obtained as the energy average of the covariant formulation. We illustrate this statement in scalar and spinor QED. For scalar QED we derive Lorentz covariant transport and constraint equations directly from the Klein-Gordon equation rather than through the previously used Feshbach-Villars representation. We then consider pair production in a spatially homogeneous but time-dependent electric field and show that the pair density is derived much more easily via the energy averaging method than in the equal-time representation. Proceeding to spinor QED, we derive the covariant version of the equal-time equation derived by Bialynicki-Birula et al. We show that it must be supplemented by another self-adjoint equation to obtain a complete description of the covariant spinor Wigner operator. After spinor decomposition and energy average we study the classical limit of the resulting three-dimensional kinetic equations. There are only two independent spinor components in this limit, the mass density and the spin density, and we derive also their covariant equations of motion. We then show that the equal-time kinetic equation provides a complete description only for constant external electromagnetic fields, but is in general incomplete. It must be supplemented by additional constraints which we derive explicitly from the covariant formulation.

nucl-th

Pi-Pi scattering lengths at finite temperature

The $s$-wave $π-π$ scattering lengths $a^I(T)$ at finite temperature $T$ and isospin $I=0,2$ are calculated within the SU(2) Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. $a^2(T)$ displays a singularity at the Mott temperature $T_M$, defined as $m_π(T_M) = 2m_q(T_M)$, while $a^0(T)$ is singular in addition at the lower temperature $T_d$, where $m_σ(T_d) = 2m_π(T_d)$, $m_σ$ and $m_π$ being the masses of the $σ$ and $π$ mesons, respectively. Numerically we find $T_d = 198$MeV and $T_M=215$MeV. We speculate on possible experimental consequences.

hep-ph

Hadronization cross--sections at the chiral phase transition of a quark plasma

Hadronization at finite temperature $T$ is discussed in the framework of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. The differential cross-section for the conversion of a quark--antiquark pair into two pions to first order in a $1/N_c$ expansion is calculated as a function of the c.m.~energy $s$ and temperature $T$. In particular, approaching the temperature $T_c$ of the chiral phase transition, the hadronization cross-section diverges like $\ln |1-{T\over T_c}|$.

hep-ph