arXiv subjects

Taesoo Song

Publications and source records attributed to Taesoo Song.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

Thermal production of charm quarks in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We investigate the thermal production of charm quarks in the strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma (sQGP) created in heavy-ion collisions at relativistic energies. Our study is based on the off-shell parton-hadron-string dynamics (PHSD) transport approach describing the full time evolution of heavy-ion collisions on a microscopic basis with hadronic and partonic degrees of freedom. The sQGP is realized within the effective dynamical quasi-particle model (DQPM) which is adjusted to reproduce the lattice QCD results for the thermodynamic observables of the sQGP. Relying on the fact that the DQPM successfully describes the spatial diffusion coefficients $D_s$ from the lQCD, which control the interaction of charm quarks with thermal partons (expressed in terms of strongly interacting off-shell quasiparticles), we evaluate the production of charm quark pairs through the rotation of Feynman diagrams such that the incoming charm quark and outgoing light parton in elastic scattering diagrams are exchanged. The charm quark annihilation is realized by detailed balance. We find that the number of produced thermal charm quark pairs strongly depends on the charm quark mass in the QGP. While for the heavy charm quarks of mass $m_c=1.8$ GeV it is subdominant compared to the primary charm production by binary nucleon-nucleon collisions at RHIC and LHC energies, the numbers of primary and thermal charm quarks become comparable for a smaller (bare) $m_c=1.2$ GeV. Compared with the experimental data on the $R_{\rm AA}$ of $D$-mesons in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and LHC energies, it is more favorable for charm quarks in the QGP to gain additional mass due to thermal effects rather than to have a low bare mass.

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arXiv2025

Heavy quark mass near the phase transition

Assuming that the number densities of heavy flavor in hadron gas and in QGP are same at $T_c$, we obtain the effective mass of heavy quark at $T_c$ from the comparison with the hadron resonance gas model which well describes particle yield in heavy-ion collisions. We find that charm quark mass at vanishing baryon chemical potential is around 1.8 GeV which is much heavier than QCD bare mass and close to $D$ meson mass. The mass slightly increases with increasing baryon chemical potential and then decreases. On the other hand, anticharm quark mass constantly decreases with increasing baryon chemical potential. Bottom quark mass has a similar pattern. Extending the hadron resonance gas model to a bit higher temperature beyond $T_c$, the effective masses of charm and bottom quarks decrease with increasing temperature.

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arXiv2025

Heavy quark potential and thermal charm production in heavy-ion collisions

Heavy quark mass in QGP is related to the heavy quark potential at a large distance. In this study we test three different heavy quark potentials, namely, the free energy, the internal energy of the heavy quark pair in QGP, and the unscreened potential, which was recently proposed by the HotQCD Collaboration, through the thermal production of charm quarks in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC. We find that the free energy potential overestimates charm production in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC, while the unscreened potential produces results closest to the experimental data from the ALICE Collaboration among the three potentials.

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arXiv2025

Jet transport coefficients by elastic and radiative scatterings in the strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma

We extend the investigation on jet transport coefficients within the effective Dynamical QuasiParticle Model (DQPM) -- constructed for the description of non-perturbative QCD phenomena of the strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma (sQGP) in line with the lattice QCD equation-of-state -- by accounting for inelastic $2\to 3$ reactions with gluon radiation additionally to the elastic scattering of partons. The elastic and inelastic reactions are calculated explicitly within leading-order Feynman diagrams with effective propagators and vertices from the DQPM by accounting for all channels and their interferences. We present the results for the jet transport coefficients such as the transverse momentum transfer squared $\hat{q}$ per unit length as well as the energy loss $ΔE = dE/dx$ per unit length in the sQGP and investigate their dependence on the temperature $T$ and momentum of the jet parton depending on the choice of the strong coupling constant $α_s$ in thermal, jet parton and radiative vertices. For the latter we consider different scenarios used in the literature and find a very strong dependence of $\hat q$ and $ΔE$ on the choice of $α_s$. Moreover, we explore the relation of $\hat{q}/T^3$ to the ratio of specific shear viscosity to entropy density $η/s$ and show that the ratio $T^3/\hat{q}$ to $η/s$ has a strong $T$ dependence -- especially when approaching to $T_c$ -- on the choice of $α_s$ in scattering vertices.

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arXiv2024

Exploring Dark Photon Production and Kinetic Mixing Constraints in Heavy-Ion Collisions

Vector $U$-bosons, often referred to as 'dark photons', are potential candidates for mediating dark matter interactions. In this study, we outline a procedure to derive theoretical constraints on the upper bound of the kinetic mixing parameter $ε^2(M_U)$ using dilepton data from heavy-ion from SIS to RHIC energies. The analysis is based on the microscopic Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) transport model, which successfully reproduces the measured dilepton spectra in $p+p$, $p+A$, and $A+A$ collisions. Besides the dilepton channels resulting from interactions and decays of Standard Model particles (such as mesons and baryons), we extend the PHSD approach to include the decay of hypothetical $U$-bosons into dileptons, $U \to e^+ e^-$. The production of these $U$-bosons occurs via Dalitz decays of pions, $η$-mesons, $ω$-mesons, Delta resonances, as well as from the decays of vector mesons and $K^+$ mesons. This analysis provides an upper limit on $ε^2(M_U)$ and offers insights into the accuracy required for future experimental searches for dark photons through dilepton experiments.

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arXiv2024

Quarkonium production in pp and heavy-ion collisions

We describe bottomonium production not only in pp collisions but also in heavy-ion collisions by using the Remler's formalism where quarkonium density operator is applied to all possible combination of heavy quark and heavy antiquark pairs. In pp collisions heavy (anti)quark momentum is provided by the PYTHIA event generator after rescaling $p_T$ and rapidity to imitate the FONLL calculations. Then spatial separation between heavy quark and heavy antiquark is introduced based on the uncertainty principle. In heavy-ion collisions quarkonium wavefunction changes with temperature assuming heavy quark potential equals the free energy of heavy quark and heavy antiquark system in heat bath. The density operator is updated whenever heavy quark or heavy antiquark scatters in QGP produced in heavy-ion collisions. Our results are consistent with the experimental data from ALICE and CMS Collaborations assuming that the interaction rate of heavy (anti)quark in quarkonium is suppressed to 10 \% that of unbound heavy (anti)quark. We also find that off-diagonal recombination of bottomonium barely happens even in Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5.02$ TeV.

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arXiv2024

Production and in-medium modification of $ϕ$ mesons in proton-nucleus reactions from a transport approach

Production and in-medium modification of hidden strange $ϕ$ mesons are studied in proton-nucleus reactions - p+C, p+Cu and p+Pb - at 12 GeV/c, partially measured by the KEK E325 collaboration via the dilepton decay mode. This work is based on the off-shell microscopic Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) transport approach, which provides the dynamical description of strongly interacting hadronic and partonic degrees of freedom in dense matter, and especially makes it possible to simulate in-medium off-shell dynamics of the $ϕ$ meson in the reactions studied. Different in-medium scenarios for the modification of the $ϕ$ meson spectral function in nuclear matter are investigated: i) dropping pole mass, ii) collisional broadening and iii) simultaneous dropping pole mass and collisional broadening. Even though the $ϕ$ meson production in p+A reactions occurs only at densities around or below normal nuclear matter density $ρ_0$, we find visible modifications of the generated dilepton spectra for the in-medium scenarios compared to the vacuum distribution.

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arXiv2024

Diquarks and the production of charmed baryons

Utilizing a quark model characterized by parameters that effectively replicate the masses of ground state hadrons, we illustrate that $(us)$ or $(ds)$ diquarks exhibit greater compactness in comparison to $(ud)$ diquarks. Concretely, the binding energy of the $(us)$ diquark - defined as the diquark's mass minus the combined masses of its individual quarks - is found to be stronger than that of the $(ud)$ diquark. This heightened attraction present in $(us)$ diquarks could lead to enhanced production of $Ξ_c/D$ particles in high-energy pp or ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

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arXiv2024

Bottomonium production in pp and heavy-ion collisions

We study bottomonium $b\bar b$ production in pp collisions as well as in heavy-ion collisions, using a quantal density matrix approach. The initial bottom (anti)quarks are provided by the PYTHIA event generator. We solve the Schrödinger equation for the $b\bar b$ pair, identifying the potential with the free energy, calculated with lattice QCD, to obtain the temperature dependent $b\bar b$ density matrix as well as the dissociation temperature. The formation of bottomonium is given by projection of the bottomonium density matrix onto the density matrix of the system. With this approach we describe the rapidity and transverse momentum distribution of the $Υ$(nS) in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=$ 5.02 TeV extending a similar calculation for the charmonium states \cite{Song:2017phm}. We employ the Remler formalism to study the $b\bar b$ production in heavy ion collisions in which the heavy quarks scatter elastically with partons from the quark gluon plasma (QGP). The elastic scattering of heavy (anti)quark in QGP is realized by the dynamical quasi-particle model (DQPM) and the expanding QGP is modeled by PHSD. We find that a reduction to 10 \% of the scattering cross section for a (anti)bottom quark with a QGP parton reproduces the experimental data. This suggests that due to color neutrality the scattering cross section of the small $b\bar b$ system with a parton is considerably smaller than twice the bottom-parton scattering cross section.

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arXiv2023

Quarkonium production in high energy $pp$ collisions

We investigate the charmonium and bottomonium production in $pp$ collisions using the Wigner densities formalism. The Wigner density of the quarkonia is approximated by analytical 3-D isotropic harmonic oscillator Wigner densities with the same root-mean-square radius given by the solution of the Schrödinger equation. This approach reproduces quite well the available experimental transverse momentum and rapidity distributions.

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arXiv2023

Heavy flavor production in the Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD)

Relativistic heavy-ion collisions produce a hot and dense nuclear matter, through which one can study the phase diagram of QCD. Open and hidden heavy flavors are promising probes to search for the properties of the hot and dense nuclear matter under extreme conditions. We present how the production and interactions of open and hidden heavy flavors in heavy-ion collisions are realized in the Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics, which is a non-equilibrium microscopic transport approach for the description of the dynamics of strongly interacting hadronic and partonic matter.

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arXiv2023

Radiative energy loss of heavy quark through soft gluon emission in QGP

The Low's theorem is applied to the soft gluon emission from heavy quark scattering in quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The QGP is described by the dynamical quasi-particle model (DQPM) which reproduces the EoS from lQCD at finite temperature and chemical potential. We show that if the emitted gluon is soft and of long wavelength, the scattering amplitude can be factorized into the scattering part and the emission part and the Slavnov-Taylor identities are satisfied in the leading order. Imposing a proper upper limit on the emitted gluon energy, we obtain the scattering cross sections of charm quark as well as the transport coefficients (momentum drag and diffusion) in the QGP with and without gluon emission.

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arXiv2023

Charmonium production in a thermalizing heat bath

Using the Remler formalism for the creation of composed particles, we study charmonium production both in thermalized and thermalizing boxes, which contain charm and anticharm quarks. The thermalizing box studies include the lowering of the box temperature, the spatial diffusion of charm and anticharm quarks, which are initially confined in the central region, as well as the combination of both, what imitates heavy-ion collisions. Comparing numerical and analytical results we demonstrate that the rate of the original Remler formalism has to be supplemented by two rates to obtain, for $t\to \infty$, results, which are consistent with the statistical model predictions: i) a rate, which takes into account the temperature dependence of the Wigner density of the quarkonium during the expansion and, in the case that a heavy quark potential is not implemented in the Monte Carlo approach, ii) a rate which comes from the change of the relative distance between the heavy quark and antiquark. These results provide the basis for future applications of the Remler formalism to heavy-ion collisions.

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arXiv2023

Bremsstrahlung photon from a hadronizing quark-gluon plasma

Assuming that quark and antiquark numbers are separately conserved during hadronization, we calculate Bremsstrahlung photon from a hadronizing quark-gluon plasma. The quark and antiquark numbers are obtained from the hadron numbers in the statistical model and the transition amplitudes for the hadronization from the constraint that all quarks and antiquarks must be consumed in the hadronization. Then Bremsstrahlung photon from the hadronization is obtained in the soft photon approximation, and we find that its contribution to the direct photon increases in low-energy heavy-ion collisions and in peripheral collisions where the lifetime of a quark-gluon plasma (QGP) is relatively short.

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arXiv2023

Soft gluon emission from heavy quark scattering in strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma

We apply the Low's theorem to soft gluon emission from heavy quark scattering in the nonperturbative strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma (sQGP). The sQGP is described in terms of the dynamical quasi-particles and adjusted to reproduce the EoS from lQCD at finite temperature and chemical potential. Since the emitted gluon is soft and of long wavelength, it does not provide information on the detailed structure of the scattering, and only the emission from incoming and outgoing partons is enough. It simplifies the calculations making the scattering amplitude factorizable into the elastic scattering and the emission of soft gluon. Imposing a proper upper limit on the emitted gluon energy, we obtain the guage-invariant scattering cross sections of heavy quarks with the massive partons of the medium as well as their transport coefficients (momentum drag and diffusion) in the QGP and compare with those from the elastic scattering without gluon emission.

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arXiv2022

Prerequisites for heavy quark coalescence in heavy-ion collisions

The coalescence model assumes instant formation of a bound state from unbound particles based on the overlapping of two states in spatial and momentum spaces and quantum numbers. Therefore, applied to the hadronization of partons, it provides a snapshot of a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) just before hadronization. We use the coalescence model for the formation of the ground state of open heavy flavor and the statistical model for heavier states. Assuming that all heavy flavors in thermal equilibrium hadronize through the coalescence, we find that the QGP just before hadronization is not composed of completely randomized partons but must have strong correlations in color charges as well as in momentum and/or coordinate spaces between heavy quark and light (anti-)quark.

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arXiv2022

In-medium effects in $ϕ$ meson production in heavy-ion collisions from subthreshold to relativistic energies

We investigate the hidden strange $ϕ$ meson production in heavy-ion collisions from subthreshold ($E_{kin}\approx 1$ A GeV) to relativistic ($E_{kin}\approx 21$ A TeV) energies as well as its coupling to the open strange mesons (kaons, antikaons) and their productions. Our study is based on the off-shell microscopic Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) transport approach which is applicable for the dynamical description of strongly interacting hadronic and partonic degrees-of-freedom created in heavy-ion collisions. Implementing novel meson-baryon and meson-hyperon production channels for $ϕ$ mesons, calculated within a T-matrix coupled channel approach based on the extended SU(6) chiral effective Lagrangian model, along with the collisional broadening of the $ϕ$-meson in-medium spectral function, we find a substantial enhancement of $ϕ$ meson production in heavy-ion collisions, especially at sub- and near-thresholds. This allows to describe the experimentally observed strong enhancement of the $ϕ/K^-$ ratio at low energies without including hypothetical decays of heavy baryonic resonances to $ϕ$ as in alternative approaches. Moreover, we show that in spite of a stronger contribution from enhanced $ϕ$ to $K^-$ production, the majority of the experimental data for different A+A systems at low energies favor the scenario with in-medium modifications of the kaon and antikaon properties in the hot and dense environment. Moreover, we study the influence of the final state interactions of $K, \bar K$ mesons on the reconstruction of $ϕ$'s by the by invariant mass method.

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arXiv2022

Transport Model Comparison Studies of Intermediate-Energy Heavy-Ion Collisions

Transport models are the main method to obtain physics information from low to relativistic-energy heavy-ion collisions. The Transport Model Evaluation Project (TMEP) has been pursued to test the robustness of transport model predictions in reaching consistent conclusions from the same type of physical model. Calculations under controlled conditions of physical input and set-up were performed with various participating codes. These included both calculations of nuclear matter in a box with periodic boundary conditions, and more realistic calculations of heavy-ion collisions. In this intermediate review, we summarize and discuss the present status of the project. We also provide condensed descriptions of the 26 participating codes, which contributed to some part of the project. These include the major codes in use today. We review the main results of the studies completed so far. They show, that in box calculations the differences between the codes can be well understood and a convergence of the results can be reached. These studies also highlight the systematic differences between the two families of transport codes, known as BUU and QMD type codes. However, when the codes were compared in full heavy-ion collisions using different physical models, as recently for pion production, they still yielded substantially different results. This calls for further comparisons of heavy-ion collisions with controlled models and of box comparisons of important ingredients, like momentum-dependent fields, which are currently underway. We often indicate improved strategies in performing transport simulations and thus provide guidance to code developers. Results of transport simulations of heavy-ion collisions from a given code will have more significance if the code can be validated against benchmark calculations such as the ones summarized in this review.

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