arXiv subjects

Steffen A. Bass

Publications and source records attributed to Steffen A. Bass.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Multistage Monte-Carlo simulation of jet modification in a static medium

The modification of hard jets in an extended static medium held at a fixed temperature is studied using three different Monte-Carlo event generators (LBT, MATTER, MARTINI). Each event generator contains a different set of assumptions regarding the energy and virtuality of the partons within a jet versus the energy scale of the medium, and hence, applies to a different epoch in the space-time history of the jet evolution. For the first time, modeling is developed where a jet may sequentially transition from one generator to the next, on a parton-by-parton level, providing a detailed simulation of the space-time evolution of medium modified jets over a much broader dynamic range than has been attempted previously in a single calculation. Comparisons are carried out for different observables sensitive to jet quenching, including the parton fragmentation function and the azimuthal distribution of jet energy around the jet axis. The effect of varying the boundary between different generators is studied and a theoretically motivated criterion for the location of this boundary is proposed. The importance of such an approach with coupled generators to the modeling of jet quenching is discussed.

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arXiv2017

Flow in small and large quark-gluon plasma droplets: the role of nucleon substructure

We study the effects of nucleon substructure on bulk observables in proton-lead collisions at the LHC using Bayesian methodology. Substructure is added to the TRENTO parametric initial condition model using Gaussian nucleons with a variable number of Gaussian partons. We vary the number and width of these partons while recovering the desired inelastic proton-proton cross section and ensemble averaged proton density. We then run the model through a large number of minimum bias hydrodynamic simulations and measure the response of final particle production and azimuthal particle correlations to initial state properties. Once these response functions are determined, we calibrate free parameters of the model using established Bayesian methodology. We comment on the implied viability of the partonic model for describing hydrodynamic behavior in small systems.

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arXiv2017

A data-driven analysis of the heavy quark transport coefficient

Using a Bayesian model-to-data analysis, we estimate the temperature dependence of the heavy quark diffusion coefficients by calibrating to the experimental data of $D$-meson $R_{\mathrm{AA}}$ and $v_2$ in AuAu collisions ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV) and PbPb collisions ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}=2.76$ TeV)~\cite{Xie:2016iwq}. The spatial diffusion coefficient $D_s2πT$ is found to be mostly constraint around $(1.3-1.5) T_c$ and is compatible with lattice QCD calculations. We demonstrate the capability of our improved Langevin model to simultaneously describe the $R_{\mathrm{AA}}$ and $v_2$ at both RHIC and the LHC energies, as well as the feasibility to apply a Bayesian analysis to quantitatively study the heavy flavor transport in heavy-ion collisions.

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arXiv2017

Determination of Quark-Gluon-Plasma Parameters from a Global Bayesian Analysis

The quality of data taken at RHIC and LHC as well as the success and sophistication of computational models for the description of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions have advanced to a level that allows for the quantitative extraction of the transport properties of the Quark-Gluon-Plasma. However, the complexity of this task as well as the computational effort associated with it can only be overcome by developing novel methodologies: in this paper we outline such an analysis based on Bayesian Statistics and systematically compare an event-by-event heavy-ion collision model to data from the Large Hadron Collider. We simultaneously probe multiple model parameters including fundamental quark-gluon plasma properties such as the temperature-dependence of the specific shear viscosity $η/s$, calibrate the model to optimally reproduce experimental data, and extract quantitative constraints for all parameters simultaneously. The method is universal and easily extensible to other data and collision models.

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arXiv2017

Revealing the collision energy dependence of $η/s$ in RHIC-BES Au+Au collisions using Bayesian statistics

We investigate the collision energy dependence of $η/s$ in a transport + viscous hydrodynamics hybrid model. A Bayesian analysis is performed on RHIC beam energy scan data for $Au+Au$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=19.6,39,$ and $62.4$ GeV. The resulting posterior probability distributions for the model parameters show a preference for a larger value of $η/s$ at $19.6$ GeV compared to $62.4$ GeV, indicating dependence on baryon chemical potential $μ_B$.

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arXiv2017

Characterization of the initial state and QGP medium from a combined Bayesian analysis of LHC data at 2.76 and 5.02 TeV

We perform a global Bayesian analysis of a modern event-by-event heavy-ion collision model and LHC data at $\sqrt s$ = 2.76 and 5.02 TeV. After calibration, the model simultaneously describes multiplicity, transverse momentum, and flow data at both beam energies. We report new constraints on the scaling of initial-state entropy deposition and QGP transport coefficients, including a quantitative estimate of the temperature-dependent shear viscosity $(η/s)(T)$.

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arXiv2017

Traces of non-equilibrium dynamics in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

The impact of non-equilibrium effects on the dynamics of heavy-ion collisions is investigated by comparing a non-equilibrium transport approach, the Parton-Hadron-String-Dynamics (PHSD), to a 2D+1 viscous hydrodynamical model, which is based on the assumption of local equilibrium and conservation laws. Starting the hydrodynamical model from the same non-equilibrium initial condition as in the PHSD, using an equivalent lQCD Equation-of-State (EoS), the same transport coefficients, i.e. shear viscosity $η$ and the bulk viscosity $ζ$ in the hydrodynamical model, we compare the time evolution of the system in terms of energy density, Fourier transformed energy density, spatial and momentum eccentricities and ellipticity in order to quantify the traces of non-equilibrium phenomena. In addition, we also investigate the role of initial pre-equilibrium flow on the hydrodynamical evolution and demonstrate its importance for final state observables. We find that due to non-equilibrium effects, the event-by-event transport calculations show large fluctuations in the collective properties, while ensemble averaged observables are close to the hydrodynamical results.

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arXiv2016

Behavior of universal critical parameters in the QCD phase diagram

We determine the dependence of important parameters for critical fluctuations on temperature and baryon chemical potential in the QCD phase diagram. The analysis is based on an identification of the fluctuations of the order parameter obtained from the Ising model equation of state and the Ginzburg-Landau effective potential approach. The impact of the mapping from Ising model variables to QCD thermodynamics is discussed.

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arXiv2016

Impact of resonance decays on critical point signals in net-proton fluctuations

The non-monotonic beam energy dependence of the higher cumulants of net-proton fluctuations is a widely studied signature of the conjectured presence of a critical point in the QCD phase diagram. In this work we study the effect of resonance decays on critical fluctuations. We show that resonance effects reduce the signatures of critical fluctuations, but that for reasonable parameter choices critical effects in the net-proton cumulants survive. The relative role of resonance decays has a weak dependence on the order of the cumulants studied with a slightly stronger suppression of critical effects for higher-order cumulants.

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arXiv2016

Systematic Extraction of QGP Properties

We investigate the collision energy dependence of shear viscosity over the entropy density ratio $η/s$ in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=19.6, 39$, and $62.4$ GeV, using Bayesian statistical analysis and Gaussian process emulators to explore the full input parameter space of a transport+hydrodynamics hybrid model. The ratio is found to decrease as a function of collision energy, supporting the results from previous studies performed with the same hybrid model.

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arXiv2016

Multi-strange hadrons and the precision extraction of QGP properties in the RHIC-BES domain

We systematically compare an event-by-event transport+viscous hydrodynamics hybrid model to data from the RHIC beam energy scan using a general Bayesian method. We demonstrate how the inclusion of multistrange hadron observables affects the outcome of the Bayesian analysis and conduct an in depth analysis of the viability of $ϕ$ and $Ω$ as probes of the transition region between a deconfined quark-gluon plasma and hadronic phase in heavy ion collisions at higher-end RHIC collision energies. Utilizing UrQMD to model the final hadronic interactions, we examine the collision rates of $ϕ$ and $Ω$ and the modification to their transverse momentum spectra due to these interactions.

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arXiv2016

Applying Bayesian parameter estimation to relativistic heavy-ion collisions: simultaneous characterization of the initial state and quark-gluon plasma medium

We quantitatively estimate properties of the quark-gluon plasma created in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions utilizing Bayesian statistics and a multi-parameter model-to-data comparison. The study is performed using a recently developed parametric initial condition model, TRENTO, which interpolates among a general class of particle production schemes, and a modern hybrid model which couples viscous hydrodynamics to a hadronic cascade. We calibrate the model to multiplicity, transverse momentum, and flow data and report constraints on the parametrized initial conditions and the temperature-dependent transport coefficients of the quark-gluon plasma. We show that initial entropy deposition is consistent with a saturation-based picture, extract a relation between the minimum value and slope of the temperature-dependent specific shear viscosity, and find a clear signal for a nonzero bulk viscosity.

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arXiv2015

The Influence of Initial State Fluctuations on Heavy Quark Energy Loss in Relativistic Heavy-ion Collisions

We study the effects of initial state fluctuations on the dynamical evolution of heavy quarks inside a quark-gluon plasma created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The evolution of heavy quarks in QGP matter is described utilizing a modified Langevin equation that incorporates the contributions from both collisional and radiative energy loss. The spacetime evolution of the fireball medium is simulated with a (2+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamic model. We find that when the medium traversed by the heavy quark contains a fixed amount of energy, heavy quarks tend to lose more energy for greater fluctuations of the medium density. This may result in a larger suppression of heavy flavor observables in a fluctuating QGP matter than in a smooth one. The possibility of using hard probes to infer the information of initial states of heavy-ion collisions is discussed.

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arXiv2015

Modeling of heavy-flavor pair correlations in Au-Au collisions at 200 A GeV at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

We study the nuclear modification of angular and momentum correlations between heavy quark pairs in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. The evolution of heavy quarks inside the thermalized medium is described via a modified Langevin approach that incorporates both elastic and inelastic interactions with the medium constituents. The spacetime evolution of the fireball is obtained from a (2+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamics simulation. The hadronization of heavy quarks is performed utilizing a hybrid model of fragmentation and coalescence. Our results show that the nuclear modification of the transverse momentum imbalance of D\bar{D} pairs reflects the total energy loss experienced by the heavy quarks and may help us probe specific regions of the medium. The angular correlation of heavy flavor pairs, especially in the low to intermediate transverse momentum regime, is sensitive to the detailed energy loss mechanism of heavy quarks inside the QGP.

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arXiv2015

Heavy-flavor dynamics in relativistic p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{S_{NN}}=5.02$ TeV

We investigate the heavy flavor dynamics in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) medium created in p-Pb collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In the (3+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamics model describing QGP medium, the dynamics of heavy quarks are studied in an improved Langevin framework incorporating both collisional and radiative energy loss. The hadronization of the heavy quarks is given by a hybrid model of fragmentation and recombination. We find that the in-medium evolution of charm quarks raises the D-meson $R_{pPb}$ at low transverse momenta while it suppresses the D-meson $R_{pPb}$ at intermediate momenta. In addition, the elliptic flow of D-meson is calculated. For a diffusion coefficient which reproduces central $R_{AA}$ data at the LHC, we find a much smaller D-meson $v_2$ compared to the light hadrons. This observation indicates an incomplete coupling between heavy quarks with the medium, due to the reduced medium size compared to AA collisions.

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arXiv2015

Energy loss, hadronization and hadronic interactions of heavy flavors in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We construct a theoretical framework to describe the evolution of heavy flavors produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The in-medium energy loss of heavy quarks is described using our modified Langevin equation that incorporates both quasi-elastic scatterings and the medium-induced gluon radiation. The space-time profiles of the fireball is described by a (2+1)-dimensional hydrodynamics simulation. A hybrid model of fragmentation and coalescence is utilized for heavy quark hadronization, after which the produced heavy mesons together with the soft hadrons produced from the bulk QGP are fed into the hadron cascade UrQMD model to simulate the subsequent hadronic interactions. We find that the medium-induced gluon radiation contributes significantly to heavy quark energy loss at high $p_\mathrm{T}$; heavy-light quark coalescence enhances heavy meson production at intermediate $p_\mathrm{T}$; and scatterings inside the hadron gas further suppress the $D$ meson $R_\mathrm{AA}$ at large $p_\mathrm{T}$ and enhance its $v_2$. Our calculations provide good descriptions of heavy meson suppression and elliptic flow observed at both the LHC and RHIC.

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arXiv2015

Alternative ansatz to wounded nucleon and binary collision scaling in high-energy nuclear collisions

We introduce TRENTO, a new parametric initial condition model for high-energy nuclear collisions based on eikonal entropy deposition via a "reduced thickness" function. The model simultaneously describes experimental proton-proton, proton-nucleus, and nucleus-nucleus multiplicity distributions, and generates nucleus-nucleus eccentricity harmonics consistent with experimental flow constraints. In addition, the model is compatible with ultra-central uranium-uranium data unlike existing models that include binary collision terms.

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arXiv2015

Quantifying properties of hot and dense QCD matter through systematic model-to-data comparison

We systematically compare an event-by-event heavy-ion collision model to data from the Large Hadron Collider. Using a general Bayesian method, we probe multiple model parameters including fundamental quark-gluon plasma properties such as the specific shear viscosity $η/s$, calibrate the model to optimally reproduce experimental data, and extract quantitative constraints for all parameters simultaneously. The method is universal and easily extensible to other data and collision models.

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