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Xin-Nian Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Xin-Nian Wang.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

(3+1)-D viscous hydrodynamics CLVisc at finite net baryon density: identified particle spectra, anisotropic flows and flow fluctuations across BES energies

To study the bulk properties of the quark-gluon-plasma (QGP) produced at the beam energy scan (BES) energies at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), we extend the (3+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamics CLVisc to include net baryon number conservation and Israel-Stewart-like equation for baryon diffusion with the NEOS-BQS equation of state, fluctuating initial conditions from Monte-Carlo Glauber model, and the afterburner SMASH. This integrated framework is shown to provide a good description of identified particle spectra, mean transverse momenta and anisotropic flows for different centralities and over a wide range of collision energies (7.7-62.4 GeV). It is found that the mean momenta of identified particles and anisotropic flows increases mildly with the collision energy due to larger radial flow. We further compute the multiple-particle cumulant ratio $v_2\{4\}/v_2\{2\}$ of elliptic flow across BES energies, and find that the relative fluctuations of elliptic flow are insensitive to the collision energy, consistent with the preliminary STAR data. Our model provides a benchmark for understanding the RHIC-BES data and studying the critical properties and phase structure of hot and dense QCD matter.

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Parton rescattering and gluon saturation in dijet production at EIC

Large angle gluon radiations induced by multiple parton scatterings contribute to dijet production in deeply inelastic scattering off a large nucleus at the Electron-Ion Collider. Within the generalized high-twist approach to multiple parton scattering, such contributions at the leading order in perturbative QCD and large Bjorken momentum fraction $x_B$ can be expressed as a convolution of the multiple parton scattering amplitudes and the transverse momentum dependent (TMD) two-parton correlation matrix elements. We study this medium-induced dijet spectrum and its azimuthal angle correlation under the approximation of small longitudinal momentum transfer in the secondary scattering and the factorization of two-parton correlation matrix elements as a product of quark and gluon TMD parton distribution function (PDF). Using a simple model for gluon saturation based on the parametrized gluon TMD PDF, we can calculate the $x_B$ and $Q^2$ dependence of the saturation scale and parton transport coefficient $\hat q$. Contributions to dijet cross section from double scattering are power-suppressed and only become sizable for mini-jets at small transverse momentum. We find that the total dijet correlation for these mini-jets, which also includes the contribution from single scattering, is sensitive to the transverse momentum broadening in the quark TMD PDF at large $x$ and saturation in the gluon TMD PDF at small $x$ inside the nucleus. The correlation from double scattering is also found to increase with the dijet rapidity gap and have a quadratic nuclear-size dependence because of the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) interference in gluon emission induced by multiple scattering. Experimental measurements of such unique features in the dijet correlation can shed light on the LPM interference in strong interaction and gluon saturation in large nuclei.

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Search for the elusive jet-induced diffusion wake in $Z/γ$-jets with 2D jet tomography in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

Diffusion wake is an unambiguous part of the jet-induced medium response in high-energy heavy-ion collisions that leads to a depletion of soft hadrons in the opposite direction of the jet propagation. New experimental data on $Z$-hadron correlation in Pb+Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider show, however, an enhancement of soft hadrons in the direction of both the $Z$ and the jet. Using a coupled linear Boltzmann transport and hydro model, we demonstrate that medium modification of partons from the initial multiple parton interaction (MPI) gives rise to a soft hadron enhancement that is uniform in azimuthal angle while jet-induced medium response and soft gluon radiation dominate the enhancement in the jet direction. After subtraction of the contributions from MPI with a mixed-event procedure, the diffusion wake becomes visible in the near-side $Z$-hadron correlation. We further employ the longitudinal and transverse gradient jet tomography for the first time to localize the initial jet production positions in $Z/γ$-jet events in which the effect of the diffusion wake is apparent in $Z/γ$-hadron correlation even without the subtraction of MPI.

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From hydro to jet quenching, coalescence and hadron cascade: a coupled approach to solving the $R_{AA}\otimes v_2$ puzzle

Hydrodynamics and jet quenching are responsible for the elliptic flow $v_2$ and suppression of large transverse momentum ($p_T$) hadrons, respectively, two of the most important phenomena leading to the discovery of a strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. A consistent description of the hadron suppression factor $R_{AA}$ and $v_2$, especially at intermediate $p_T$, however, remains a challenge. We solve this long-standing $R_{AA}\otimes v_2$ puzzle by including quark coalescence for hadronization and final state hadron cascade in the coupled linear Boltzmann transport-hydro model that combines concurrent jet transport and hydrodynamic evolution of the bulk medium. We illustrate that quark coalescence and hadron cascade, two keys to solving the puzzle, also lead to a splitting of $v_2$ for pions, kaons and protons in the intermediate $p_T$ region. We demonstrate for the first time that experimental data on $R_{AA}$, $v_2$ and their hadron flavor dependence from low to intermediate and high $p_T$ in high-energy heavy-ion collisions can be understood within this coupled framework.

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Probing criticality with deep learning in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Systems with different interactions could develop the same critical behaviour due to the underlying symmetry and universality. Using this principle of universality, we can embed critical correlations modeled on the 3D Ising model into the simulated data of heavy-ion collisions, hiding weak signals of a few inter-particle correlations within a large particle cloud. Employing a point cloud network with dynamical edge convolution, we are able to identify events with critical fluctuations through supervised learning, and pick out a large fraction of signal particles used for decision-making in each single event.

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Modification of $Z^0$ leptonic invariant mass in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions as a measure of the electromagnetic field

An extraordinary strong magnetic field, $eB_0 \approx 10^{18}$ Gauss, is expected to be generated in non-central ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions and it is envisaged to induce several effects on hot QCD matter including the possibility of local parity and local parity and charge conjugation symmetry violations. A direct signature of such e.m. fields and a first quantitative measurement of its strength and lifetime are still missing. We point out that both the mean value of leptonic invariant mass of $Z^0$ boson, reconstructed by its decaying lepton pairs, and the relative width are modified in relativistic heavy ion collisions due to the presence of strong initial e.m. fields. We propose a measurement of the leptonic invariant mass of $Z^0$ as a novel probe of the strength of the $B_y$. Both shifts could be up to about few hundred MeV and are found to depend on the integral of $B_y$ over the time duration quadratically (approximate). Hence it provides a novel and clear probe of electromagnetic fields, which can be tested experimentally.

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Event-by-event jet anisotropy and hard-soft tomography of the quark-gluon plasma

Suppression of jet spectra or jet quenching in high-energy heavy-ion collisions is caused by jet energy loss in the dense medium. The azimuthal anisotropy of jet energy loss in non-central heavy-ion collisions can lead to jet anisotropy which in turn can provide insight into the path-length dependence of jet quenching. This is investigated within the Linear Boltzmann Transport (LBT) model which simulates both elastic scattering and medium-induced gluon radiation based on perturbative QCD for jet shower and medium recoil partons as well as radiated gluons as they propagate through the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The dynamical evolution of the QGP in each event of heavy-ion collisions is provided by the (3+1)D CLVisc hydrodynamic model with fully fluctuating initial conditions. This framework has been shown to describe the suppression of single inclusive jet spectra well. We calculate in this study the elliptic ($v_{2}^{\rm jet}$) and triangular ($v_{3}^{\rm jet}$) anisotropy coefficients of the single inclusive jet spectra in Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC energies. We investigate the colliding energy, centrality, jet transverse momentum dependence of the jet anisotropy, as well as their event-by-event correlation with the flow coefficients of the soft bulk hadrons. An approximate linear correlation between jet and bulk $v_2$ is found. Effect of the bulk $v_n$ fluctuation on $v_n^{\rm jet}$ is found negligible. The jet-induced medium excitation, which is influenced by radial flow, is shown to enhance $v_{2}^{\rm jet}$ and the enhancement increases with the jet cone size. The jet elliptic anisotropy $v_{2}^{\rm jet}$ is also found to be slightly enhanced by the shear viscosity of the bulk medium in comparison to the LBT results when jets propagate through an ideal hydrodynamic QGP medium.

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QLBT: A linear Boltzmann transport model for heavy quarks in a quark-gluon plasma of quasi-particles

We develop a new heavy quark transport model, QLBT, to simulate the dynamical propagation of heavy quarks inside the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Our QLBT model is based on the linear Boltzmann transport (LBT) model with the ideal QGP replaced by a collection of quasi-particles to account for the non-perturbative interactions among quarks and gluons of the hot QGP. The thermal masses of quasi-particles are fitted to the equation of state from lattice QCD simulations using the Bayesian statistical analysis method. Combining QLBT with our advanced hybrid fragmentation-coalescence hadronization approach, we calculate the nuclear modification factor $R_\mathrm{AA}$ and the elliptic flow $v_2$ of $D$ mesons at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider and the Large Hadron Collider. By comparing our QLBT calculation to the experimental data on the $D$ meson $R_\mathrm{AA}$ and $v_2$, we extract the heavy quark transport parameter $\hat{q}$ and diffusion coefficient $D_\mathrm{s}$ in the temperature range of $1-4~T_\mathrm{c}$, and compare them with the lattice QCD results and other phenomenological studies.

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Hydrodynamic description of $D$ meson production in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

The large values and the constituent-quark-number (NCQ) scaling of the elliptic flow of low-$p_T$ $D$ mesons imply that charm quarks, initially produced through hard processes, might be partially thermalized through the strong interactions with the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. To quantify the degree of thermalization of low-$p_T$ charm quarks, we compare the $D^0$ meson spectra and elliptic flow from a hydrodynamic model to the experimental data as well as transport model simulations. We use an effective charm chemical potential at the freeze-out temperature to account for the initial charm quark production from hard processes and assume that they are thermalized in local comoving frame of the medium before freeze-out. $D^0$ mesons are sampled statistically from the freeze-out hyper-surface of the expanding QGP as described by the event-by-event (3+1)D viscous hydrodynamic model CLVisc. Both hydrodynamic and transport model can describe the elliptic flow of $D^0$ mesons at $p_T<3$ GeV/$c$ as measured in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV. Though the experimental data on $D^0$ spectra are consistent with the hydrodynamic result at small $p_T\sim 1$ GeV/$c$, they deviate from the hydrodynamic model at high transverse momentum $p_T>2$ GeV/$c$. The diffusion and parton energy loss mechanisms in the transport model can describe the measured spectra reasonably well within the theoretical uncertainty. Our comparative study indicates that charm quarks only approach to local thermal equilibrium at small $p_T$ even though they acquire sizable elliptic flow that is comparable to light-quark hadrons at both small and intermediate $p_T$.

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$γ$-hadron spectra in p + Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV

Under the assumption that a quark-gluon plasma droplet is produced and its evolution can be described by hydrodynamics in p + A collisions, $γ$-triggered hadron spectra are studied within a next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD parton model with the medium-modified parton fragmentation functions. The initial conditions and space-time evolution of the small QGP droplet are provided by the superSONIC hydrodynamic model simulations and parton energy loss in such a medium is described by the high-twist (HT) approach. The scaled jet transport coefficient $\hat{q}/T^3$ in this HT approach is extracted from single hadron suppression in central A + A collisions at the same colliding energy. Numerical results for this scenario show that $γ$-hadron spectra at $p_{\rm T}^γ=12-40$ GeV/$c$ are suppressed by 5\% $\sim$ 10\% in the most central 0 - 10\% p + Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. The suppression becomes weaker at higher transverse momentum of the $γ$ trigger. As a comparison, $γ$-hadron suppression in Pb + Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76$ and 5.02 TeV is also predicted.

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Medium-induced flavor conversion and kaon spectra in electron-ion collisions

Multiple scattering and induced parton splitting lead to a medium modification of the QCD evolution for jet fragmentation functions and the final hadron spectra. Medium-induced parton splittings not only lead to energy loss of leading partons and suppression of leading hadron spectra, but also modify the flavor composition of a jet due to induced flavor conversion via gluon emission, quark pair production and annihilation. Through a numerical study of the medium-modified QCD evolution, leading $K^-$ strange meson spectra are found to be particularly sensitive to the induced flavor conversion in semi-inclusive deeply inelastic scatterings (SIDIS) off a large nucleus. The induced flavor conversion can lead to increased number of gluons and sea quarks in a jet and, as a consequence, enhance the leading $K^-$ spectra to counter the effect of parton energy loss in SIDIS with large momentum fractions $x_B$ where the struck quarks are mostly valence quarks of the nucleus.

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Global polarization effect and spin-orbit coupling in strong interaction

In non-central high energy heavy ion collisions the colliding system posses a huge orbital angular momentum in the direction opposite to the normal of the reaction plane. Due to the spin-orbit coupling in strong interaction, such huge orbital angular momentum leads to the polarization of quarks and anti-quarks in the same direction. This effect, known as the global polarization effect, has been recently observed by STAR Collaboration at RHIC that confirms the theoretical prediction made more than ten years ago. The discovery has attracted much attention on the study of spin effects in heavy ion collision. It opens a new window to study properties of QGP and a new direction in high energy heavy ion physics -- Spin Physics in Heavy Ion Collisions. In this chapter, we review the original ideas and calculations that lead to the predictions. We emphasize the role played by spin-orbit coupling in high energy spin physics and discuss the new opportunities and challenges in this connection.

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QGP modification to single inclusive jets in a calibrated transport model

We study inclusive jet suppression and modifications in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) with a transport-based model. The model includes vacuum-like parton shower evolution at high-virtuality, a linearized transport for jet-medium interactions, and a simple ansatz for the jet-induced hydrodynamic response of the medium. Model parameters are calibrated to nuclear modification factors for inclusive hadron $R_{AA}^{h}$ and single inclusive jets $R_{AA}^{j}$ with cone size $R=0.4$ in 0-10% central Au-Au and Pb-Pb collisions measured at the RHIC and LHC. The calibrated model consistently describes the cone-size dependent $R_{AA}^{j}(R)$, modifications to inclusive jet fragmentation functions and jet shape. We discuss the origin of these modifications by analyzing the medium-induced jet energy flow in this model and elucidate the interplay of hard parton evolution and jet-induced medium response. In particular, we demonstrate that the excess of soft hadrons at $p_T\sim 2$ GeV/$c$ in jet fragmentation function and jet shape at large $r=\sqrt{Δη^2+Δϕ^2}$ are consequences of both soft medium-induced gluon radiation and jet-induced medium excitation.

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Production of W+jets in Relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We carry out a detailed calculations of W+jets production in Pb+Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In our calculations, the production of W+jet in p+p reference is obtained from Sherpa, which matches next-to-leading-order matrix elements to the resummation of parton shower calculations. Jet propagation and medium response in the quark-gluon plasma is simulated with the Linear Boltzmann Transport (LBT) model. We calculate five observables of W+jets productions with jet quenching effect in Pb+Pb collisions: event distribution as a function of the vector sum of the lepton and jets $|\vec{p}_T^{Miss}|$, nuclear effects for tagged jet cross sections $I_{AA}$, azimuthal angle correlations $Δϕ_{jW}$, mean value of momentum imbalance $\langle x_{jW}\rangle$, average number of jets per W boson $R_{jW}$. The nuclear modifications of these 5 observables due to jet quenching in Pb+Pb relative to that in p+p collisions are discussed.

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Gradient Tomography of Jet Quenching in Heavy-Ion Collisions

Transverse momentum broadening and energy loss of a propagating parton are dictated by the space-time profile of the jet transport coefficient $\hat q$ in a dense QCD medium. The spatial gradient of $\hat q$ perpendicular to the propagation direction can lead to a drift and asymmetry in parton transverse momentum distribution. Such an asymmetry depends on both the spatial position along the transverse gradient and path length of a propagating parton as shown by numerical solutions of the Boltzmann transport in the simplified form of a drift-diffusion equation. In high-energy heavy-ion collisions, this asymmetry with respect to a plane defined by the beam and trigger particle (photon, hadron or jet) with a given orientation relative to the event plane is shown to be closely related to the transverse position of the initial jet production in full event-by-event simulations within the linear Boltzmann transport model. Such a gradient tomography can be used to localize the initial jet production position for more detailed study of jet quenching and properties of the quark-gluon plasma along a given propagation path in heavy-ion collisions.

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Improved quark coalescence model for spin alignment and polarization of hadrons

We propose an improved quark coalescence model for spin alignment of vector mesons and polarization of baryons by spin density matrix with phase space dependence. The spin density matrix is defined through Wigner functions. Within the model we propose an understanding of spin alignments of vector mesons $ϕ$ and $K^{*0}$ (including $\bar{K}^{*0}$) in the static limit: a large positive deviation of $ρ_{00}$ for $ϕ$ mesons from 1/3 may come from the electric part of the vector $ϕ$ field, while a negative deviation of $ρ_{00}$ for $K^{*0}$ may come from the electric part of vorticity tensor fields. Such a negative contribution to $ρ_{00}$ for $K^{*0}$ mesons, in comparison with the same contribution to $ρ_{00}$ for $ϕ$ mesons which is less important, is amplified by a factor of the mass ratio of strange to light quark times the ratio of $\left\langle \mathbf{p}_{b}^{2}\right\rangle $ on the wave function of $K^{*0}$ to $ϕ$ ($\mathbf{p}_{b}$ is the relative momentum of two constituent quarks of $K^{*0}$ and $ϕ$). These results should be tested by a detailed and comprehensive simulation of vorticity tensor fields and vector meson fields in heavy ion collisions.

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Identifying the nature of the QCD transition in heavy-ion collisions with deep learning

In this proceeding, we review our recent work using deep convolutional neural network (CNN) to identify the nature of the QCD transition in a hybrid modeling of heavy-ion collisions. Within this hybrid model, a viscous hydrodynamic model is coupled with a hadronic cascade "after-burner". As a binary classification setup, we employ two different types of equations of state (EoS) of the hot medium in the hydrodynamic evolution. The resulting final-state pion spectra in the transverse momentum and azimuthal angle plane are fed to the neural network as the input data in order to distinguish different EoS. To probe the effects of the fluctuations in the event-by-event spectra, we explore different scenarios for the input data and make a comparison in a systematic way. We observe a clear hierarchy in the predictive power when the network is fed with the event-by-event, cascade-coarse-grained and event-fine-averaged spectra. The carefully-trained neural network can extract high-level features from pion spectra to identify the nature of the QCD transition in a realistic simulation scenario.

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Gradient tomography of jet quenching in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

We illustrate with both a Boltzmann diffusion equation and full simulations of jet propagation in heavy-ion collisions within the Linear Boltzmann Transport (LBT) model that the spatial gradient of the jet transport coefficient perpendicular to the propagation direction can lead to a drift and asymmetry in the transverse momentum distribution. Such an asymmetry depends on both the spatial position along the transverse gradience and the propagating length. It can be used to localize the initial jet production positions for more detailed studies of jet quenching and properties of the quark-gluon plasma in heavy-ion collisions.

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