arXiv subjects

S. Schlichting

Publications and source records attributed to S. Schlichting.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Hot spots in a proton

We explore the consequences of gluonic hot spots inside the proton for the initial eccentricities in a proton-nucleus collision, and the constraints on the parameters describing these hot spots from coherent and incoherent exclusive vector meson production cross sections in deep inelastic scattering. We show that geometric fluctuations of hot spots inside the proton are the dominant source of eccentricity whereas color charge fluctuations only give a negligible correction. We find that the coherent cross section is sensitive to both the size of the target and the structure of the probe. The incoherent cross section is dominated by color fluctuations at small transverse momentum transfer (t), by proton and hot spot sizes as well as the structure of the probe at medium -t and again by color fluctuations at large -t.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Forward dijet production at the LHC within an impact parameter dependent TMD approach

We investigate possible signatures of gluon saturation using forward $p+A \to j+j+X$ di-jet production processes at the Large Hadron Collider. In the forward rapidity region, this is a highly asymmetric process where partons with large longitudinal momentum fraction $x$ in the dilute projectile are used as a probe to resolve the small $x$ partonic content of the dense target. Such dilute-dense processes can be described in the factorization framework of Improved Transverse Momentum Distributions (ITMDs). We present a new model for ITMDs where we explicitly introduce the impact parameter ($b$) dependence in the ITMDs, to properly account for the nuclear enhancement of gluon saturation effects, and discuss the phenomenological consequences for $p-Pb$, $p-Xe$ and $p-O$ collisions at the LHC. While the case of $p-p$ and $e-p$ collisions is used to fix the model parameters, we find that, on average, the nuclear enhancement of the saturation scale is noticeably weaker than expected from naive scaling with a simple dependence on the atomic number. Since our model explicitly accounts for event-by-event fluctuations of the nuclear geometry, it can also be applied to study forward central correlations in $p-A$ collisions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Jet thermalization in QCD kinetic theory

We perform numerical studies in QCD kinetic theory to investigate the energy and angular profiles of a high energy parton - as a proxy for a jet produced heavy ion collisions - passing through a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). We find that the fast parton loses energy to the plasma mainly via a radiative turbulent gluon cascade that transport energy locally from the jet down to the temperature scale where dissipation takes place. In this first stage, the angular structure of the turbulent cascade is found to be relatively collimated. However, when the lost energy reaches the plasma temperature is it rapidly transported to large angles w.r.t. the jet axis and thermalizes. We investigate the contribution of the soft jet constituents to the total jet energy. We show that for jet opening angles of about 0.3 rad or smaller the effect is negligible. Conversely, larger opening angles become more and more sensitive to the thermal component of the jet and thus to medium response. Our result showcase the importance of the jet cone size in mitigating or enhancing the details of dissipation in jet quenching observables.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Opacity dependence of transverse flow, pre-equilibrium and applicability of hydrodynamics in heavy-ion collisions

We evaluate the full opacity dependence of collective flow in high-energy heavy-ion collisions within a microscopic kinetic description based on the Boltzmann equation in the conformal relaxation time approximation. By comparing kinetic theory calculations to hydrodynamic and hybrid simulations for an average initial state, we point out shortcomings and inaccuracies of hydrodynamic models and present modified simulation setups to improve them.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Establishing the Range of Applicability of Hydrodynamics in High-Energy Collisions

We simulate the space-time dynamics of high-energy collisions based on a microscopic kinetic description in the conformal relaxation time approximation, in order to determine the range of applicability of an effective description in relativistic viscous hydrodynamics. We find that hydrodynamics provides a quantitatively accurate description of collective flow when the average inverse Reynolds number is sufficiently small and the early pre-equilibrium stage is properly accounted for. We further discuss the implications of our findings for the (in)applicability of hydrodynamics in proton-proton, proton-nucleus and light nucleus collisions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Snowmass 2021 White Paper: Electron Ion Collider for High Energy Physics

Electron Ion Collider (EIC) is a particle accelerator facility planned for construction at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York by the United States Department of Energy. EIC will provide capabilities of colliding beams of polarized electrons with polarized beams of proton and light ions. EIC will be one of the largest and most sophisticated new accelerator facilities worldwide, and the only new large-scale accelerator facility planned for construction in the United States in the next few decades. The versatility, resolving power and intensity of EIC will present many new opportunities to address some of the crucial and fundamental open scientific questions in particle physics. This document provides an overview of the science case of EIC from the perspective of the high energy physics community.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Development of transverse flow for small and large systems in conformal kinetic theory

We employ an effective kinetic description to study the space-time dynamics and development of transverse flow of small and large collision systems. By combining analytical insights in the few interactions limit with numerical simulations at higher opacity, we are able to describe the development of transverse flow from very small to very large opacities, realised in small and large collision systems. Surpisingly, we find that deviations between kinetic theory and hydrodynamics persist even in the limit of very large interaction rates, which can be attributed to the presence of the early pre-equilibrium phase.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Proton hot spots and exclusive vector meson production

We explore consequences of the existence of gluonic hot spots inside the proton for coherent and incoherent exclusive vector meson production cross sections in deep inelastic scattering. By working in the dilute limit of the Color Glass Condensate framework to compute the cross sections for Gaussian hot spots of fluctuating color charges and employing a non-relativistic vector meson wave function, we are able to perform large parts of the calculation analytically. We find that the coherent cross section is sensitive to both the size of the target and the structure of the probe. The incoherent cross section is dominated by color fluctuations at small transverse momentum transfer ($t$), by proton and hot spot sizes as well as the structure of the probe at medium $t$ and again by color fluctuations at large $t$. While the $t$-dependence of the cross section is well reproduced in our model, the relative normalization between the coherent and the incoherent cross sections points to the need for additional fluctuations in the proton.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Development of transverse flow at small and large opacities in conformal kinetic theory

We employ an effective kinetic description, based on the Boltzmann equation in the relaxation time approximation, to study the space-time dynamics and development of transverse flow of small and large collision systems. By combining analytical insights in the small opacity limit with numerical simulations at larger opacities, we are able to describe the development of transverse flow from very small to very large opacities. Suprisingly, we find that deviations between kinetic theory and hydrodynamics persist even in the limit of very large opacities, which can be attributed to the presence of the early pre-equilibrium phase.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Hot spots and gluon field fluctuations as causes of eccentricity in small systems

We calculate eccentricities in high energy proton-nucleus collisions, by calculating correlation functions of the energy density field of the Glasma immediately after the collision event at proper time tau = 0. We separately consider the effects of color charge and geometrical hot spot fluctuations, analytically performing the averages over both in a dilute-dense limit. We show that geometric fluctuations of hot spots inside the proton are the dominant source of eccentricity whereas color charge fluctuations only give a negligible correction. The size and number of hot spots are the most important parameters characterizing the eccentricities.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Hydrodynamization and non-equilibrium Green's functions in kinetic theory

Non-equilibrium Green's functions provide an efficient way to describe the evolution of the energy-momentum tensor during the early time pre-equilibrium stage of high-energy heavy ion collisions. Besides their practical relevance they also provide a meaningful way to address the question when and to what extent a hydrodynamic description of the system becomes applicable. Within the kinetic theory framework we derive a new method to calculate time dependent non-equilibrium Green's functions describing the evolution of energy and momentum perturbations on top of an evolving far-from-equilibrium background. We discuss the approach towards viscous hydrodynamics along with the emergence of various scaling phenomena for conformal systems. By comparing our results obtained in the relaxation time approximation to previous calculations in Yang-Mills kinetic theory, we further address the question which macroscopic features of the energy momentum tensor are sensitive to the underlying microscopic dynamics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Chirality transfer & chiral turbulence in gauge theories

Chirality transfer between fermions and gauge fields plays a crucial role for understanding the dynamics of anomalous transport phenomena such as the Chiral Magnetic Effect. In this proceeding we present a first principles study of these processes based on classical-statistical real-time lattice simulations of strongly coupled QED $(e^2N_f=64)$. Our simulations demonstrate that a chirality imbalance in the fermion sector triggers chiral plasma instabilities in the gauge field sector, which ultimately lead to the generation of long range helical magnetic fields via a self-similar turbulent cascade of the magnetic helicity.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Saturation corrections to dilute-dense particle production and azimuthal correlations in the Color Glass Condensate

We perform a numerical study of higher order saturation corrections to the dilute-dense approximation for multi-particle production in high-energy hadronic collisions in the framework of the Color Glass Condensate. We compare semi-analytical results obtained by performing a leading order expansion in the dilute field of the projectile with numerical simulations of the full Classical Yang-Mills dynamics for a number of phenomenologically relevant observables. By varying the saturation momentum of the target and the projectile, we establish the regime of validity of the dilute-dense approximation and assess the magnitude and basic features of higher order saturation corrections. In particular, we find that dilute-dense approximation faithfully reproduces dense-dense results if restricted to the range of its validity.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Early time dynamics and hard probes in heavy-ion collisions

We present an overview of the current state of understanding of the early time dynamics of high-energy heavy-ion collisions, emphasizing recent developments and connections between the physics of the initial state and that of hard probes in heavy-ion collisions. Based on a weak-coupling description, we first establish a microscopic picture of the early time dynamics and equilibration process and subsequently discuss their macroscopic manifestations along with a novel macroscopic description of the pre-equilibrium phase. Some phenomenological consequences concerning the role of the pre-equilibrium phase in large (AA) and small (pp/pA) collision systems are briefly discussed along with open questions and opportunities for future improvements.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Jet fragmentation in a QCD medium: Universal quark/gluon ration and Wave turbulence

We calculate the evolution of a jet shower due to medium induced splittings in the deep LPM regime. Due to the characteristic energy dependence of the formation time $t_{\rm form}(ω)= \sqrt{ω/\hat{\bar{q}}}$, the radiative break-up process exhibits turbulent characteristics, allowing for analytic predictions of various inclusive properties of the medium induced cascade in an inertial range of energies $T \ll ω\ll E$, where $E$ is the energy of the jet and $T$ is the temperature of the medium.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Predictions for Cold Nuclear Matter Effects in $p+$Pb Collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} = 8.16$ TeV

Predictions for cold nuclear matter effects on charged hadrons, identified light hadrons, quarkonium and heavy flavor hadrons, Drell-Yan dileptons, jets, photons, gauge bosons and top quarks produced in $p+$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} = 8.16$ TeV are compiled and, where possible, compared to each other. Predictions of the normalized ratios of $p+$Pb to $p+p$ cross sections are also presented for most of the observables, providing new insights into the expected role of cold nuclear matter effects. In particular, the role of nuclear parton distribution functions on particle production can now be probed over a wider range of phase space than ever before.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Linearly polarized gluons and axial charge fluctuations in the Glasma

We calculate of the one- and two-point correlation functions of the energy density and the divergence of the Chern-Simons current in the nonequilibrium Glasma state formed in a high-energy nuclear collision. We show that the latter depends on the difference of the total and linearly polarized gluon transverse momentum distributions. Since the divergence of the Chern-Simons current provides the source of axial charge, we infer information about the statistical properties of axial charge production at early times. We further develop a simple phenomenological model to characterize axial charge distributions in terms of distributions of the energy density.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Tuning of the Quantum-Confined Stark Effect in Wurtzite $[000\bar{1}]$ Group-III-Nitride Nanostructures by the Internal-Field-Guarded-Active-Region Design

Recently, we suggested an unconventional approach [the so-called Internal-Field-Guarded-Active-Region Design (IFGARD)] for the elimination of the crystal polarization field induced quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) in polar semiconductor heterostructures. And in this work, we demonstrate by means of micro-photoluminescence techniques the successful tuning as well as the elimination of the QCSE in strongly polar $[000\bar{1}]$ wurtzite GaN/AlN nanodiscs while reducing the exciton life times by more than two orders of magnitude. The IFGARD based elimination of the QCSE is independent of any specific crystal growth procedures. Furthermore, the cone-shaped geometry of the utilized nanowires (which embeds the investigated IFGARD nanodiscs) facilitates the experimental differentiation between quantum confinement- and QCSE-induced emission energy shifts. Due to the IFGARD, both effects become independently adaptable.

physics.app-ph↗