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Shen, Chun

Publications and source records attributed to Shen, Chun.

At least 55 records · Page 3

Bulk properties and multi-particle correlations in large and small systems

Charged particle production is calculated in a hybrid framework consisting of the IP-Glasma initial state, Music viscous relativistic fluid dynamics, and the UrQMD microscopic hadronic cascade. Using one set of parameters, we compute observables for a large variety of collision systems. Furthermore, we compare to experimental data in p+p, p+Pb, Xe+Xe, Au+Au and Pb+Pb collisions at various energies, and make predictions for potential O+O runs at RHIC and LHC.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Probing Early-Time Dynamics and Quark-Gluon Plasma Transport Properties with Photons and Hadrons

In this work, we use a hybrid model which relies on QCD effective kinetic theory - KøMPøST - to dynamically bridge the gap between IP-Glasma initial states and viscous hydrodynamics, for the theoretical interpretation of heavy-ion collision results. The hydrodynamic phase is then followed by dynamical freeze-out handled by UrQMD. It is observed that the new pre-equilibrium/pre-hydro phase does influence the extraction of transport coefficients. We also show how the early dynamics is reflected in photon observables.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

QCD equation of state at finite densities for nuclear collisions

In this work, we construct the QCD equation of state at finite chemical potentials including net baryon, electric charge, and strangeness based on the results of lattice QCD simulations and the hadron resonance gas model. The situation of strangeness neutrality and a fixed charge-to-baryon ratio, which resembles that of heavy nuclei, is considered for the application to relativistic heavy-ion collisions. This increases the values of baryon chemical potential compared to the case of vanishing strangeness and electric charge chemical potentials, modifying the fireball trajectory in the phase diagram. We perform viscous hydrodynamic simulations and demonstrate the importance of multiple chemical potentials for identified particle production in heavy-ion collisions at the RHIC and SPS beam energy scan energies.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Probing early-time longitudinal dynamics with the Λ hyperon's spin polarization in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Here, we systematically study the hyperon global polarization's sensitivity to the collision systems' initial longitudinal flow velocity in hydrodynamic simulations. By explicitly imposing local energy-momentum conservation when mapping the initial collision geometry to macroscopic hydrodynamic fields, we study the evolution of systems' orbital angular momentum (OAM) and fluid vorticity. We find that a simultaneous description of the $\Lambda$ hyperons' global polarization and the slope of pion's directed flow can strongly constrain the size of longitudinal flow at the beginning of hydrodynamic evolution. We extract the size of the initial longitudinal flow and the fraction of orbital angular momentum in the produced QGP fluid as a function of collision energy with the STAR measurements in the RHIC Beam Energy Scan program. We find that there is about 100-200 $\hbar$ OAM that remains in the mid-rapidity fluid at the beginning of hydrodynamic evolution. We further exam the effects of different hydrodynamic gradients on the spin polarization of $\Lambda$ and $\bar{\Lambda}$. The gradients of $\mu_B/T$ can change the ordering between $\Lambda$'s and $\bar{\Lambda}$'s polarization.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Dynamically Exploring the QCD Matter at Finite Temperatures and Densities: A Short Review

We provide a concise review on recent theory advancements towards full-fledged (3+1)D dynamical descriptions of relativistic nuclear collisions at finite baryon density. Heavy-ion collisions at different collision energies produce strongly coupled matter and probe the QCD phase transition at the crossover, critical point, and first-order phase transition regions. Dynamical frameworks provide a quantitative tool to extract properties of hot QCD matter and map fireballs to the QCD phase diagram. Outstanding challenges are highlighted when confronting current theoretical frameworks with current and forthcoming experimental measurements from the RHIC beam energy scan programs.

Physics↗

Manipulating strong electromagnetic fields with the average transverse momentum of relativistic nuclear collisions

Abstract We show that an event-shape engineering based on the mean transverse momentum of charged hadrons, $$[p_t]$$ [ p t ] , provides an optimal handle on the strength of the magnetic field created in central heavy-ion collisions at high energy. This is established through quantitative evaluations of the correlation existing between the event-by-event magnetic field produced by the spectator protons in 5.02 TeV Pb + Pb collisions and the event-by-event $$[p_t]$$ [ p t ] at a given collision centrality. We argue that the event selection based on $$[p_t]$$ [ p t ] provides a better handle on the magnetic field than the more traditional selection based on the event ellipticities. Advantages brought by this new method for the experimental search of the chiral magnetic effect are discussed.

Giacalone, Giuliano (ORCID:0000000287761034)↗

Λ polarization from thermalized jet energy

We examine the formation of vortical “smoke rings” as a result of thermalization of energy lost by a jet. We simulate the formation and evolution of these rings using hydrodynamics and define an observable that allows to probe this phenomenon experimentally. We argue that observation of vorticity associated with jets would be an experimental confirmation of the thermalization of the energy lost by quenched jets, and also a probe of shear viscosity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Vortex rings from high energy central 𝑝 + 𝐴 collisions

Relativistic p + A collisions may produce droplets of quark gluon plasma (QGP) that quickly develop a toroidal vortex structure similar to that of an expanding smoke ring. We present viscous relativistic hydrodynamic calculations of ultra-central p + A collisions and develop an experimental observable to probe the structure, correlating the polarization and momentum of hyperons emitted from the collision. This effect is robust against changes in the definition of vorticity used to calculate the polarization. Experiments at RHIC and LHC may test the existence and strength of the vortex toroids, bringing new evidence to bear on the question of collectivity in the smallest QGP droplets.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Exploring theoretical uncertainties in the hydrodynamic description of relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We explore theoretical uncertainties in the hydrodynamic description of relativistic heavy-ion collisions by examining the full nonlinear causality conditions and quantifying the second-order transport coefficients' role on flow observables. The causality conditions impose physical constraints on the maximum allowed values of inverse Reynolds numbers during the hydrodynamic evolution. Including additional second-order gradient terms in the Denicol-Niemi-Molnár-Rischke (DNMR) theory significantly shrinks the casual regions compared to those in the Israel-Stewart hydrodynamics. For Au + Au collisions, we find the variations of flow observables are small with and without imposing the necessary causality conditions, suggesting a robust extraction of the quark-gluon plasma's transport coefficients in previous model-to-data comparisons. However, sizable sensitivity is present in small p + Au collisions, which poses challenges to study the small systems' collectivity.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

QCD equation of state at finite chemical potentials for relativistic nuclear collisions

In this work, we review the equation of state of QCD matter at finite densities. We discuss the construction of the equation of state with net baryon number, electric charge, and strangeness using the results of lattice QCD simulations and hadron resonance gas models. Its application to the hydrodynamic analyses of relativistic nuclear collisions suggests that the interplay of multiple conserved charges is important in the quantitative understanding of the dense nuclear matter created at lower beam energies. Several different models of the QCD equation of state are discussed for comparison.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Studying QGP with flow: A theory overview

I review recent developments in the phenomenological study of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) transport properties based on a personal selection of results that were presented at Quark Matter 2019. Additionally, the constraints on the temperature dependence of QGP shear and bulk viscosity are summarized. I discuss new theory advancements towards more realistic 3D dynamical simulations of heavy-ion collisions at finite baryon density. The challenges and opportunities of applying hydrodynamics to small collision systems are highlighted.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Observable signatures of initial state momentum anisotropies in nuclear collisions

In this work, we show that the correlation between the elliptic momentum anisotropy v 2 and the average transverse momentum [ p T ] at fixed multiplicity in small system nuclear collisions carries information on the origin of the observed momentum anisotropy. A calculation using a hybrid IP-Glasma+ music +UrQMD model that includes contributions from final state response to the initial geometry as well as initial state momentum anisotropies of the color glass condensate predicts a characteristic sign change of the correlator ρ ^ ( v 2 2 , [ p T ] ) as a function of charged particle multiplicity in p + Au and d + Au collisions at s = 200 GeV , and p + Pb collisions at s = 5.02 TeV . This sign change is absent in calculations without initial state momentum anisotropies. The model further predicts a qualitative difference between the centrality dependence of ρ ^ ( v 2 2 , [ p T ] ) in Au + Au collisions at s = 200 GeV and Pb + Pb collisions at s = 5.02 TeV , with only the latter showing a sign change in peripheral events. Predictions for O + O collisions at different collision energy show a similar behavior. Experimental observation of these distinct qualitative features of ρ ^ ( v 2 2 , [ p T ] ) in small and large systems would constitute strong evidence for the presence and importance of initial state momentum anisotropies predicted by the color glass condensate effective theory.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Beam-energy dependence of the production of light nuclei in Au + Au collisions

We study in the coalescence model the collision energy dependence of (anti-)deuteron and (anti- )triton production in the most central Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} $ = 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4 and 200 GeV. The needed phase-space distribution of nucleons at the kinetic freeze-out is generated from a new 3D hybrid dynamical model (iEBE-MUSIC) by using a smooth crossover equation of state (EoS) without a QCD critical point. Our model calculations predict that the coalescence parameters of (anti-)deuteron (B 2 (d) and B 2 ($\bar{d}$)) decrease monotonically as the collision energy increases, and the light nuclei yield ratio N t N p /$Nd^{2}_{d}$ remains approximately a constant with respect to the collision energy. These calculated observables fail to reproduce the non-monotonic behavior of the corresponding data from the STAR Collaboration. Without including any effects of the critical point in our model, our results serve as the baseline predictions for the yields of light nuclei in the search for the possible QCD critical points from the experimental beam energy scan of heavy ion collisions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Transverse momentum fluctuations and their correlation with elliptic flow in nuclear collision

In this article, we propose observables v 0 and v 0 (p T ) which quantify the relative fluctuations in the total transverse momentum at fixed multiplicity. We first study the factorization of the fixed multiplicity momentum dependent two particle correlation function into a product of v 0 ($p^{a}_{T}$) and v 0 ($p^{b}_{T}$) within realistic hydrodynamic simulations. Then we present computations of v 0 (p T ) for different particle types. We determine the relation between the integrated v 0 and previously measured observables, and compare results from a hybrid hydrodynamics based model to experimental data. The effects of bulk viscosity and an initial pre-equilibrium stage on the results are quantified. We find that v 0 is strongly correlated with the initial state entropy per elliptic area, S/A. Using this result, we explain how the observed correlations between the elliptic flow and the transverse momentum (both in simulations and experiment) reflect the initial state correlations between 1/A and ellipticity ε 2 at fixed multiplicity. Furthermore, we argue that the systematic experimental study of v 0 , with the same sophistication as used for the other v n , can contribute significantly to our understanding of quark gluon plasma properties.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Exploring the influence of bulk viscosity of QCD on dilepton tomography

The collective behavior of hadrons and of electromagnetic radiation in heavy-ion collisions has been widely used to study the properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Indeed this collectivity, as measured by anisotropic flow coefficients, can be used to constrain the transport properties of QGP. The goal of this contribution is to investigate the influence of the specific bulk viscosity (ζ/s) on dilepton production, both at Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider and Large Hadron Collider energies. We explore the sensitivity of dileptons to dynamical features that bulk viscosity induces on the evolution of a strongly interacting medium, and highlight what makes them a valuable probe in the pursuit to also constrain ζ/s.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Energy and scale dependence of $\hat{q}$ and the “JET puzzle”

Here, we present an attempt to probe the underlying structure of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) at high resolution, based on the extracted jet transport coefficient $\hat{q}$. We argue that the exchanged momentum $\textit{k}$ between the hard parton and the medium varies over a range of scales, and for $\textit{k}$ ≥ 1 GeV, $\hat{q}$ can be expressed in terms of a parton distribution function (PDF). Because the mass of a QGP constituent is unknown, we define a scaling variable $x_N$ to represent the ratio of the parton momentum to the momentum of a self-contained section of the plasma which has a mass of 1 GeV. This scaling variable is used to parametrize the QGP-PDF. Calculations based on this reconstructed $\hat{q}$ are compared to data sensitive to the hardcore of jets, i.e., the single hadron suppression in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{ A A}$ and the azimuthal anisotropy parameter $v_2$ as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$, centrality, and energy of the collision. It is demonstrated that the scale evolution of the QGP-PDF is responsible for the reduction in the normalization of $\hat{q}$ between fits to the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider and the Large Hadron Collider data; a puzzle, first discovered by the JET Collaboration.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗