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Xiang-Yu Wu

Publications and source records attributed to Xiang-Yu Wu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Global polarization of $\Lambda$, $\Xi^{-}$, and $\Omega^{-}$ hyperons in Au+Au collisions at RHIC BES-II energies

We investigate the global spin polarization of $\Lambda$ hyperons and the multi-strange hyperons $\Xi^{-}$ and $\Omega^{-}$ in Au+Au collisions across the RHIC Beam Energy Scan II (BES-II) energy range, $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=7.7$--$27$ GeV. The polarization is computed using the modified Cooper--Frye formula, which includes contributions from thermal vorticity, the thermal shear tensor, and the gradient of the baryon chemical potential, combined with the (3+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamic framework CLVisc with SMASH initial conditions. We present the global polarization as a function of collision energy, centrality, transverse momentum, and rapidity. We find that the global polarization of $\Omega^{-}$ is systematically larger than those of $\Lambda$ and $\Xi^{-}$ because of its larger spin quantum number, but it remains below the central value of the recent STAR measurement. This discrepancy may suggest that additional mechanisms, such as spin correlations among strange quarks inside the $\Omega^{-}$, could contribute to the observed $\Omega^{-}$ polarization. We also find that the global-polarization splitting between hyperons and anti-hyperons increases toward lower collision energies and is dominated by the chemical-potential-gradient contribution.

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The polarization of thermal dileptons emitted in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

This work presents calculations of thermal dilepton emission and polarization observables. It features a comprehensive framework which comprises virtual photon spectral functions complete at next-to-leading-order in the strong coupling and iEBE-MUSIC hydrodynamic simulations. The polarization of thermal lepton pairs is shown to be sensitive to in-medium properties of the quark-gluon plasma. We consider Pb+Pb collisions performed in conditions specific to the LHC and examine the magnitude and behaviour of the polarization as measured in different frames, the effects of the pre-equilibrium gluon abundance, and we derive a one-to-one mapping between dielectron and dimuon polarization.

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Mapping Nuclear Deformation with Differential Radial Flow in Heavy-Ion Collisions

In relativistic heavy-ion collisions, the radial flow of the fireball, usually characterized by transverse momentum spectra of final-state particles, encodes essential information about the hot and dense nuclear matter created in the collisions. However, the response of radial flow, including its $p_T$-differential structure $v_0(p_T)$ and longitudinal fluctuations $v_0(\eta)$, to intrinsic nuclear deformation remains unexplored. Using realistic $(3+1)$-dimensional viscous hydrodynamic calculations with Trento-3D initial conditions, we investigate how nuclear deformation affects the differential radial flow. We observe a clear, positive correlation between quadrupole deformation $\beta_2$ and radial flow: both magnitudes of $v_0$ and $v_0(p_T)$ are enhanced in central collisions when $\beta_2$ is increased. In contrast, the Pearson coefficient $\rho(n(p_T), [p_T])$ exhibits a universal step-like behavior across all collision systems and centralities. Further analysis of longitudinal decorrelation of radial flow reveals a rich structure: in central collisions, large $\beta_2$ tends to suppress the decorrelation, whereas hexadecapole deformation $\beta_4$ tends to enhance it. Such decorrelation effect increases toward peripheral collisions. Our results demonstrate that precise measurements of radial flow, spanning transverse momentum and longitudinal dependences, can provide powerful, complementary constraints on nuclear deformation in high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions.

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Electromagnetic Radiation from Baryon-Rich Matter in Heavy-Ion Collisions

We perform a study of electromagnetic radiation in heavy-ion collisions at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) Beam Energy Scan (BES) and SPS energies using the iEBE-MUSIC framework, which includes 3D dynamical Monte Carlo Glauber initial conditions, MUSIC (3+1)D viscous relativistic hydrodynamics, and the UrQMD hadronic afterburner. The multistage modeling has been calibrated to hadronic data at RHIC-BES energies using a Bayesian analysis. Integrating the thermal photon emission rates with the medium evolution, we study the direct photon yield and elliptic flow and how they vary with collision energy and emission source. We compare with results obtained by the STAR and PHENIX Collaborations. We employ next-to-leading order thermal QCD dilepton emission rates to compute dilepton invariant mass spectra and extract the effective temperature of the quark-gluon plasma at different collision energies.

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Electromagnetic radiation from Quark-Gluon Plasma at finite baryon density

Using the Bayesian calibrated iEBE-MUSIC framework, we compute the production of electromagnetic radiation from hot hadronic matter at finite baryon density. Results for thermal photon and thermal dilepton yields are obtained by folding in-medium emission rates with posterior-sampled backgrounds evolved hydrodynamically. We consider different photon sources and analyze the collision-energy dependence of the thermal-to-prompt photon ratio. The sensitivity of the dilepton spectra to the pre-equilibrium stage is explored by considering different initialization procedures. Finally, we examine the impact on dilepton spectra of choosing parameter sets stemming from different Bayesian data analyses.

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In-plane transverse polarization in heavy-ion collisions

We give an analytical expression for the in-plane polarization $P^{x}$, in heavy-ion collisions that has, to our knowledge, not been measured in heavy-ion collision experiments. We also carry out a numerical study of $P^{x}$ using a hydrodynamic model simulation as a cross-check for the analytical formula. It is found that if the temperature-gradient contribution is neglected the simulation result for $P^{x}$ qualitatively agrees with the analytical one. The prediction of $P^{x}$ can be tested in experiments and will contribute to provide a complete and consistent picture of spin phenomena in heavy-ion collisions.

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Hydrodynamic effects on spin polarization along the beam direction in Au+Au and p+Pb collisions

We investigate hydrodynamic effects on the spin polarization of $Λ$ hyperons in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV and p+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 8.16$ TeV using the CLVisc hydrodynamic framework. We present numerical results for the second Fourier sine coefficient of the longitudinal spin polarization, $\langle P_{z} \sin 2(ϕ_{p} - Ψ_{2}) \rangle$, as a function of multiplicity (centrality) under three equilibrium scenarios: $Λ$ equilibrium, $s$-quark equilibrium, and isothermal equilibrium. We highlight the respective roles of thermal vorticity and the thermal-shear tensor in generating $\langle P_{z} \sin 2(ϕ_{p} - Ψ_{2}) \rangle$ across collision systems and scenarios.

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Hyperon spin correlation in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

Recent experimental data show an unexpectedly large spin alignment of $\phi$ mesons in high-energy heavy-ion collisions, which can be explained by short-distance fluctuations of strong-force fields (vector $\phi$ fields) within the constituent-quark model. We calculate the hyperon spin correlations within the same model, taking into account hydrodynamic effects and a $\phi$ field fluctuating in space-time according to a Gaussian distribution. The $\Lambda\bar\Lambda$ spin correlation induced by the $\phi$ field is shown to be negative as opposed to that of $\Lambda\Lambda$ or $\bar{\Lambda}\bar{\Lambda}$. We thus propose a new net spin-correlation observable as a sensitive probe to separate strong-force effects from hydrodynamic ones. With the strength of the field fluctuations extracted from the observed $\phi$ spin alignment, we predict the collision-energy dependence of the hyperon spin correlations and also investigate the dependence of the net spin correlation on azimuthal-angle and rapidity difference.

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Thermal dilepton polarization and dynamics of the QCD plasma in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We present the first theoretical study of the polarization of lepton pairs produced in $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC, using next-to-leading order (NLO) dilepton emission rates. These calculations employ a multi-stage framework to simulate the evolution of relativistic heavy-ion collisions, and to explore the sensitivity of polarization to early times. It is found that the intermediate invariant-mass dileptons are indeed probes of the thermal equilibration process, and go beyond the reach of hadronic observables. We compute the polarization anisotropy coefficient obtained with LO dilepton rates, and show that the LO and NLO results differ radically, both in trend and in magnitude, at low and intermediate lepton pair invariant masses.

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Effects of a background magnetic field on dilepton radiation

We explore the feasibility of using dilepton radiations as a QGP magnetometer. We calculate the dilepton production rate in the presence of a time-dependent magnetic field typically found in heavy-ion collisions. We compute the thermal dilepton spectra from Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt s$ = 19.6 GeV BES energy -- using a realistic (3+1)-dimensional multistage hydrodynamic simulation. We find the thermal dilepton elliptic flow to be very sensitive to the strength of the magnetic field.

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Dilepton emission in heavy ion collisions and chemical equilibrium of QCD matter

We study thermal dilepton production and anisotropic flow in Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 5.02 \, \mathrm{TeV}$ using next-to-leading-order (NLO) thermal QCD dilepton emission rates. A hybrid model (IP-Glasma+\kompost+MUSIC+UrQMD) simulates the collision evolution. The role of the pre-equilibrium stage in dilepton observables is examined. We also explore how chemical equilibrium in QCD matter affect dilepton observables.

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Probing the equilibration of the QCD matter created in heavy-ion collisions with dileptons

A systematic study of intermediate invariant mass dilepton production in Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV is performed, using next-to-leading-order (NLO) thermal QCD dilepton emission rates with a multistage dynamical approach which includes event-by-event IP-Glasma initial conditions, relativistic viscous fluid dynamics, and a hadronic afterburner. Considering dilepton yield and anisotropic flow, special attention is paid to the out-of-equilibrium aspects, both thermal and chemical, and to the contribution of the Drell-Yan process. The relative contribution of each of those different channels to dilepton observables is calculated and discussed.

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Spin polarization of $Λ$ hyperons along beam direction in p+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=8.16$ TeV using hydrodynamic approaches

We have implemented the 3+1 dimensional CLVisc hydrodynamics model with TRENTO-3D initial conditions to investigate the spin polarization of $Λ$ hyperons along the beam direction in p+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 8.16$ TeV. Following our previous theoretical framework based on quantum kinetic theory, we consider three different scenarios: $Λ$ equilibrium, $s$ quark equilibrium, and iso-thermal equilibrium scenarios. We have computed the second Fourier sine coefficients of spin polarization along the beam direction, denoted as $\left\langle P_{z} \sin 2(ϕ_{p} - Ψ_{2}) \right\rangle$, with $ϕ_{p} - Ψ_{2}$ being the azimuthal angle relative to the second-order event plane $Ψ_{2}$, as functions of multiplicity, transverse momentum and pseudo-rapidity in the three scenarios. Additionally, we have also computed the spin polarization along the beam direction, $P_{z}$, as a function of the azimuthal angle. We find that the spin polarization induced by thermal vorticity always provides an opposite contribution compared to the shear-induced polarization in p+Pb collisions. The total spin polarization computed by the current hydrodynamic model disagrees with the data measured by LHC-CMS experiments. Our findings imply that other non-flow effects may play a crucial role in p+Pb collisions.

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The effect of vorticity on the dynamical magnetic fields in heavy-ion collisions

Magnetic fields in heavy-ion collisions are pivotal and subject to diverse factors. In this study, we quantitatively investigate the impact of fluid vorticity on the evolution of magnetic fields in the 20-50\% centrality class in Au+Au collisions, with collision energies of $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=(7.7, 14.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4, 200)$ GeV. Our results indicate that fluid vorticity leads to a delay in the evolution of the magnetic field, in which this effect becomes more pronounced as the collision energy decreases. Additionally, we have calculated the mean magnetic field values on the freeze-out hypersurface for various collision energies. Our simulation results align with the values inferred from experimental data of $\barΛ-Λ$, within the error margins.

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System size and shape dependences of collective flow fluctuations in relativistic nuclear collisions

Quantum fluctuations plays an essential role in forming the collective flow of hadrons observed in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Event-by-event fluctuations of the collective flow can arise from various sources, such as the fluctuations in the initial geometry, hydrodynamic expansion, hadronization, and hadronic evolution of the nuclear matter, while the exact contribution from each source is still an open question. Using a (3+1)-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamic model coupled to a Monte-Carlo Glauber initial condition, Cooper-Frye particlization and a hadronic transport model, we explore the system size and shape dependences of the collective flow fluctuations in Au+Au, Cu+Au, and O+O collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=200$~GeV. The particle yields, mean transverse momenta, 2-particle and 4-particle cumulant elliptic flows ($v_2\{2\}$ and $v_2\{4\}$) from our calculation agree with the currently existing data from RHIC. Different centrality dependences of the flow fluctuations, quantified by the $v_2\{4\}/v_2\{2\}$ ratio, are found for different collision systems due to their different sizes and shapes. By comparing $v_2\{4\}/v_2\{2\}$ between different hadron species, and comparing $v_2\{4\}/v_2\{2\}$ to the initial state geometric fluctuations quantified by the cumulant eccentricity ratio $\varepsilon_2\{4\}/\varepsilon_2\{2\}$, we find that while the initial state fluctuations are the main source of the $v_2$ fluctuations in large collision systems, other sources like nonlinear hydrodynamic response, hadronization, and hadronic afterburner can significantly affect the $v_2$ fluctuations in small systems.

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Charmed hadron chemistry and flow in heavy and light ion collisions at the LHC

We study the charmed meson and baryon production and elliptic flow in ultra-relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The space-time evolution of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) produced in these energetic collisions is obtained via the (3+1)-dimensional CLVisc hydrodynamics model, the heavy quark dynamics inside the QGP is simulated using an improved Langevin model that incorporates both elastic and inelastic parton energy loss processes, and the heavy quark hadronization is simulated utilizing a comprehensive coalescence-fragmentation model. Using our combined approach, we first calculate charmed hadron ratios, $Λ_c/D^0$ and $D_s/D^0$, as well as their elliptic flow ($v_2$) as a function of transverse momentum ($p_T$) for different centralities in Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02$~TeV. Due to strangeness enhancement and parton coalescence effects, $D_s/D^0$ and $Λ_c/D^0$ ratios increase from peripheral to central collisions, and such centrality dependence for $Λ_c/D^0$ is stronger than $D_s/D^0$. We further predict the $p_T$ and centrality dependences of charmed hadron chemistry and $v_2$ in smaller Xe+Xe, Ar+Ar and O+O collisions at the LHC energies. Strong centrality and system size dependences for $Λ_c/D^0$ and $D_s/D^0$ ratios are observed across four collision systems. As for charmed hadron flow, both system size and collision geometry are important to understand the centrality dependence of $v_2$ in different collision systems. Our study provides a significant reference for studying heavy quark evolution and hadronizaiton in large and small systems in relativistic nuclear collisions.

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Anisotropic flow, flow fluctuation and flow decorrelation in relativistic heavy-ion collisions: the roles of sub-nucleon structure and shear viscosity

We study the transverse momentum ($p_T$) differential anisotropic flow and flow fluctuation in Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=5.02 TeV at the LHC. A (3+1)-dimensional CLVisc hydrodynamics framework with fluctuating TRENTO (or AMPT) initial conditions is utilized to simulate the space-time evolution of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) medium. The effects of shear viscosity and the sub-nucleon structure on anisotropic flow and flow fluctuation are analyzed. Our result shows that shear viscosity tends to suppress both flow coefficients (${v_2\{2}\}$, ${v_2\{4\}}$, ${\langle v_2\rangle}$) and flow fluctuation (${σ_{v_2}}$) due to its smearing effect on local density fluctuation. The flow coefficients appear to be insensitive to the sub-nucleon structure, whereas for flow fluctuation ${σ_{v_2}}$, it tends to be suppressed by the sub-nucleon structure in central collisions but enhanced in peripheral collisions. After taking into account the sub-nucleon structure effect, our numerical result can quantitatively describe the relative flow fluctuations (${v_2\{4\}/v_2\{2\}}$, $F({v_2})$) measured by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC. We further investigate the effects of shear viscosity, sub-nucleon structure and initial condition model on the flow angle and flow magnitude decorrelations (${A_2^f}$, ${M_2^f}$) using the four-particle correlation method. We find that the flow decorrelation effect is typically stronger in central collisions than in peripheral collisions. The flow angle decorrelation is found to be insensitive to the shear viscosity and sub-nucleon structure, whereas the flow magnitude decorrelation shows quite different behavior when using TRENTO or AMPT initial condition model. Our study sheds light on the anisotropic flow, transport properties and initial structure of the QGP created in high-energy nuclear collisions.

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Global and local polarization of $Λ$ hyperons across RHIC-BES energies

We report our recent study on the global and local polarization of $Λ$ hyperons in Au+Au collisions at RHIC-BES energies within the (3+1)-dimensional CLVisc hydrodynamics framework. We present our numerical results for the global polarization as the function of collision energies and the local polarization along the beam direction as functions of azimuthal angle in $20-50$% centrality at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=7.7 GeV Au+Au collision energy. We have discussed the effects of initial conditions, Spin Hall effect and baryon diffusion.

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