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At least 505 records · Page 28

Bottomonium suppression in 5.02 and 8.16 TeV 𝑝-Pb collisions

Here, we compute the suppression of ϒ⁡(1⁢𝑆), ϒ⁡(2⁢𝑆), and ϒ⁡(3⁢𝑆) states in 𝑝-Pb collisions relative to 𝑝⁢𝑝 collisions, including nuclear parton distribution function (nPDF) effects, coherent energy loss, momentum broadening, and final-state interactions in the quark-gluon plasma. We employ the EPPS21 nPDFs and calculate the uncertainty resulting from variation over the associated error sets. To compute coherent energy loss and momentum broadening, we follow the approach of Arleo, Peigne, and collaborators. The 3+1⁢D viscous hydrodynamical background evolution of the quark-gluon plasma is generated by anisotropic hydrodynamics. The in-medium suppression of bottomonium in the quark-gluon plasma is computed using a next-to-leading-order open quantum system framework formulated within potential nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics. We find that inclusion of all these effects provides a reasonable description of experimental data from the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb Collaborations for the suppression of ϒ⁡(1⁢𝑆), ϒ⁡(2⁢𝑆), and ϒ⁡(3⁢𝑆) as a function of both transverse momentum and rapidity.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

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

Abstract 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 $$R_\mathrm {AA}$$ R AA and the elliptic flow $$v_2$$ 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 $$R_\mathrm {AA}$$ R AA and $$v_2$$ v 2 , we extract the heavy quark transport parameter $$\hat{q}$$ q ^ and diffusion coefficient $$D_\mathrm {s}$$ D s in the temperature range of $$1-4~T_\mathrm {c}$$ 1 - 4 T c , and compare them with the lattice QCD results and other phenomenological studies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Intense infrared lasers for strong-field science

The advent of chirped-pulse amplification in the 1980s and femtosecond Ti:sapphire lasers in the 1990s enabled transformative advances in intense laser–matter interaction physics. Whereas most of experiments have been conducted in the limited near-infrared range of 0.8–1 μm, theories predict that many physical phenomena such as high harmonic generation in gases favor long laser wavelengths in terms of extending the high-energy cutoff. Significant progress has been made in developing few-cycle, carrier-envelope phase-stabilized, high-peak-power lasers in the 1.6–2 μm range that has laid the foundation for attosecond X ray sources in the water window. Even longer wavelength lasers are becoming available that are suitable to study light filamentation, high harmonic generation, and laser–plasma interaction in the relativistic regime. Long-wavelength lasers are suitable for sub-bandgap strong-field excitation of a wide range of solid materials, including semiconductors. In the strong-field limit, bulk crystals also produce high-order harmonics. In this review, we first introduce several important wavelength scaling laws in strong-field physics, then describe recent breakthroughs in short- (1.4–3 μm), mid- (3–8 μm), and long-wave (8–15 μm) infrared laser technology, and finally provide examples of strong-field applications of these novel lasers. Furthermore, some of the broadband ultrafast infrared lasers will have profound effects on medicine, environmental protection, and national defense, because their wavelengths cover the water absorption band, the molecular fingerprint region, as well as the atmospheric infrared transparent window.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Particle-in-cell Simulations of Mildly Relativistic Outflows in Kilonova Emissions

Abstract The electromagnetic emission from neutron star mergers is comprised of multiple components. Synchrotron emission from the disk-powered jet and thermal emission from the merger ejecta (powered by a variety of sources) are among the most studied sources. The low masses and high velocities of the merger ejecta quickly develop conditions where emission from collisionless shocks becomes critical and synchrotron emission from the merger ejecta constitutes a third component to the observed signal. The aim of this project is to examine shock development, magnetic field generation, and particle acceleration in the case of mildly relativistic shocks, which are expected when the tidal ejecta of neutron star mergers drive a shock into the external medium. Using LANL’s vector particle-in-cell (VPIC) code, we have run simulations of such mildly relativistic, collisionless, weakly magnetized plasmas and computed the resultant magnetic fields and particle energy spectra. We show the effects of varying plasma conditions, as well as explore the validity of using different proton-to-electron mass ratios in VPIC. Our results have implications for observing late-time electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave detections of neutron star mergers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Optical imagery and spectrophotometry of CTB 80

Narrow-band imagery and spectrophotometry of the central region of CTB 80 are presented. The images show weak forbidden O III and ubiquitous filamentary forbidden S II and H-alpha emission from the extended radio lobes in which the core is embedded. The data indicate that the extended component is shock heated. Balmer line-dominated emission is observed around the perimeter of the core. Assuming that the volume of the radio shell is similar to the volume of the thermal shell, it is found that a magnetic field of about 600 microG and a cosmic-ray proton-to-electron ratio of about 200 are required to explain the pressure and synchrotron volume emissivity in the radio shell. It is suggested that the optical emission form the core of CTB 80 arises behind shocks which are being driven into a magnetized thermal plasma by the confined relativistic wind from PSR 1951+32.

Hester, J. Jeff↗

Bulk viscosity and cavitation in heavy ion collisions

Relativistic heavy ion collisions generate nuclear-sized droplets of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) that exhibit nearly inviscid hydrodynamic expansion. Smaller collision systems such as p + Au, d + Au, and 3 He + Au at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, as well as p + Pb and high-multiplicity p + p at the Large Hadron Collider may create even smaller droplets of QGP. If so, the standard time evolution paradigm of heavy ion collisions may be extended to these smaller systems. These small systems present a unique opportunity to examine pre-hydrodynamic physics and extract properties of the QGP, such as the bulk viscosity, where the short lifetimes of the small droplets makes them more sensitive to these contributions. Here we focus on the influence of bulk viscosity, its temperature dependence, and cavitation effects on the dynamics in small and large systems using the publicly available hydrodynamic codes SONIC and MUSIC. In conclusion, we also compare pre-hydrodynamic physics in different frameworks including AdS/CFT strong coupling, IP-GLASMA weak coupling, and free streaming or no coupling.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Viscosities of the Baryon-Rich Quark-Gluon Plasma from Beam Energy Scan Data

Here, this work presents the first Bayesian inference study of the (3 + 1)D dynamics of relativistic heavy-ion collisions and quark-gluon plasma viscosities using an event-by-event (3 + 1)D hydrodynamics + hadronic transport theoretical framework and data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider Beam energy scan program. Robust constraints on initial state nuclear stopping and the baryon chemical potential-dependent shear viscosity of the produced quantum chromodynamic (QCD) matter are obtained. The specific bulk viscosity of the QCD matter is found to exhibit a preferred maximum around $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6 GeV . This result allows for the alternative interpretation of a reduction (and/or increase) of the speed of sound relative to that of the employed lattice-QCD based equation of state for net baryon chemical potential μ B ~0.2(0.4) GeV .

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Electron energy gain due to a laser frequency modulation experienced by electron during betatron motion

Direct laser acceleration of electrons is an important energy deposition mechanism for laser-irradiated plasmas that is particularly effective at relativistic laser intensities in the presence of quasi-static laser-driven plasma electric and magnetic fields. These radial electric and azimuthal magnetic fields provide transverse electron confinement by inducing betatron oscillations of forward-moving electrons undergoing laser acceleration. Electrons are said to experience a betatron resonance when the frequency of betatron oscillations matches the average frequency of the laser field oscillations at the electron position. In this paper, we show that the modulation of the laser frequency as seen by an electron performing betatron oscillations can be another important mechanism for net energy gain that is qualitatively different from the betatron resonance. Specifically, we show that the frequency modulation experienced by the electron can lead to net energy gain in the regime where the laser field performs three oscillations per betatron oscillation. There is no net energy gain in this regime without the modulation because the energy gain is fully compensated by the energy loss. The modulation slows down the laser oscillation near transverse stopping points, increasing the time interval during which the electron gains energy and making it possible to achieve net energy gain.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Simulation of Relativistic Shocks and Associated Self-Consistent Radiation

Plasma instabilities excited in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle acceleration. We have investigated the particle acceleration and shock structure associated with an unmagnetized relativistic electron-positron jet propagating into an unmagnetized electron-positron plasma. Cold jet electrons are thermalized and slowed while the ambient electrons are swept up to create a partially developed hydrodynamic-like shock structure. In the leading shock, electron density increases by a factor of about 3.5 in the simulation frame. Strong electromagnetic fields are generated in the trailing shock and provide an emission site. These magnetic fields contribute to the electrons transverse deflection behind the shock. We calculate the radiation from deflected electrons in the turbulent magnetic fields. The properties of this radiation may be important for understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets in general, and supernova remnants.

Nishikawa, K.-I.↗

Nonlinear, relativistic Langmuir waves in astrophysical magnetospheres

Large amplitude, electrostatic plasma waves are relevant to physical processes occurring in the astrophysical magnetospheres wherein charged particles are accelerated to relativistic energies by strong waves emitted by pulsars, quasars, or radio galaxies. The nonlinear, relativistic theory of traveling Langmuir waves in a cold plasma is reviewed. The cases of streaming electron plasma, electronic plasma, and two-streams are discussed.

Chian, Abraham C.-L.↗

Electron-beam–controlled deflection of near-infrared laser in semiconductor plasma

A timing method for experiments on the interaction of a near-infrared laser and an ultra-relativistic electron beam via a semiconductor plasma switch is experimentally validated. As an intermediate medium, a thin Si plate is excited by the energetic, intense electron beam to produce a semiconductor plasma, which in turn deflects counter-colliding laser light having 1 μm wavelength. An electron beam of sub-nC charge sufficiently induces the needed electron number density gradient of 1×10 20 cm -3 per tens of μm length at the interaction point. Demonstration during an inverse Compton scattering experiment by a counter-colliding electron beam of 300 pC and 70 MeV with an Nd: YAG laser at a wavelength of 1 μm is reported here.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Integrating a ponderomotive guiding center algorithm into a quasi-static particle-in-cell code based on azimuthal mode decomposition

High fidelity modeling of plasma based acceleration (PBA) requires the use of three dimensional, fully nonlinear, and kinetic descriptions based on the particle-in-cell (PIC) method. In PBA an intense particle beam or laser (driver) propagates through a tenuous plasma whereby it excites a plasma wave wake. Three-dimensional PIC algorithms based on the quasi-static approximation (QSA) have been successfully applied to efficiently model the interaction between relativistic charged particle beams and plasma. In a QSA PIC algorithm, the plasma response to a charged particle beam or laser driver is calculated based on forces from the driver and self-consistent forces from the QSA form of Maxwell's equations. These fields are then used to advance the charged particle beam or laser forward by a large time step. Since the time step is not limited by the regular Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition that constrains a standard 3D fully electromagnetic PIC code, a 3D QSA PIC code can achieve orders of magnitude speedup in performance. Recently, a new hybrid QSA PIC algorithm that combines another speedup technique known as an azimuthal Fourier decomposition has been proposed and implemented. This hybrid algorithm decomposes the electromagnetic fields, charge and current density into azimuthal harmonics and only the Fourier coefficients need to be updated, which can reduce the algorithmic complexity of a 3D code to that of a 2D code. Modeling the laser-plasma interaction in a full 3D electromagnetic PIC algorithm is very computationally expensive due the enormous disparity of physical scales to be resolved. In the QSA the laser is modeled using the ponderomotive guiding center (PGC) approach. We describe how to implement a PGC algorithm compatible for the QSA PIC algorithms based on the azimuthal mode expansion. Here this algorithm permits time steps orders of magnitude larger than the cell size and it can be asynchronously parallelized. Details on how this is implemented into the QSA PIC code that utilizes an azimuthal mode expansion, QPAD, are also described. Benchmarks and comparisons between a fully 3D explicit PIC code (OSIRIS), as well as a few examples related to laser wakefield acceleration, are presented.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Disk-accreting magnetic neutron stars as high-energy particle accelerators

Interaction of an accretion disk with the magnetic field of a neutron star produces large electromotive forces, which drive large conduction currents in the disk-magnetosphere-star circuit. Here we argue that such large conduction currents will cause microscopic and macroscopic instabilities in the magnetosphere. If the minimum plasma density in the magnetosphere is relatively low is less than or aproximately 10(exp 9)/cu cm, current-driven micro-instabilities may cause relativistic double layers to form, producing voltage differences in excess of 10(exp 12) V and accelerating charged particles to very high energies. If instead the plasma density is higher (is greater than or approximately = 10(exp 9)/cu cm, twisting of the stellar magnetic field is likely to cause magnetic field reconnection. This reconnection will be relativistic, accelerating plasma in the magnetosphere to relativistic speeds and a small fraction of particles to very high energies. Interaction of these high-energy particles with X-rays, gamma-rays, and accreting plasma may produce detectable high-energy radiation.

Hamilton, Russell J.↗

Laser-plasma acceleration beyond wave breaking

Laser wakefield accelerators rely on the extremely high electric fields of nonlinear plasma waves to trap and accelerate electrons to relativistic energies over short distances. When driven strongly enough, plasma waves break, trapping a large population of the background electrons that support their motion. Aside from limiting the maximum electric field, this trapping can lead to accelerated electron bunches with large energy spreads. Here we introduce a novel regime of plasma wave excitation and wakefield acceleration that allows for arbitrarily high electric fields while avoiding the deleterious effects of unwanted trapping. Here, the regime, enabled by spatiotemporal shaping of laser pulses, exploits the property that nonlinear plasma waves with superluminal phase velocities cannot trap charged particles and are therefore immune to wave breaking.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Bayesian analysis of (3 +1)⁢D relativistic nuclear dynamics with the RHIC beam energy scan data

This work presents a Bayesian inference study for relativistic heavy-ion collisions in the beam energy scan program at the BNL Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. The theoretical model simulates event-by-event (3+1)-dimensional [(3+1)⁢D] collision dynamics using hydrodynamics and hadronic transport theory. We analyze the model's 20-dimensional posterior distributions obtained using three model emulators with different accuracy and demonstrate the essential role of training an accurate model emulator in the Bayesian analysis. Our analysis provides robust constraints on the quark-gluon plasma's transport properties and various aspects of (3+1)⁢D relativistic nuclear dynamics. By running full model simulations with 100 parameter sets sampled from the posterior distribution, we make predictions for p T -differential observables and estimate their systematic theory uncertainty. Here, a sensitivity analysis is performed to elucidate how individual experimental observables respond to different model parameters, providing useful physics insights into the phenomenological model for heavy-ion collisions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Implications of the isobar-run results for the chiral magnetic effect in heavy-ion collisions

The chiral magnetic effect (CME) is a macroscopic transport phenomenon induced by a quantum anomaly in the presence of chiral imbalance and an external magnetic field. Relativistic heavy ion collisions provide the unique opportunity to look for CME in a non-Abelian plasma, where the chiral imbalance is created by topological transitions similar to those occurring in the early universe. The isobar run at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider was proposed as a way to separate the possible CME signal driven by magnetic field from the background. The first blind analysis results from this important experiment were recently released by the STAR Collaboration. Notably, under the pre-defined assumption of identical background in RuRu and ZrZr, the results are inconsistent with the presence of CME, as well as with all existing theoretical models (whether including CME or not). However the observed difference of backgrounds must be taken into account before any physical conclusion is drawn. In this paper, we show that once the observed difference in hadron multiplicity and collective flow are quantitatively taken into account, the STAR results could be consistent with a finite CME signal contribution of about (6.8 ± 2.6)%.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗