Heavy ions at LHCb and connections to EIC
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Atomic, Nuclear and Particle Physics↗
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Results for “heavy ion physics”
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Recent open heavy flavor studies for the Electron-Ion Collider
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Atomic, Nuclear and Particle Physics↗
Long-Term Radiation Rugged Rotary Vacuum and Water Seals in Heavy-Ion Accelerators
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07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
Advanced Analysis of X-ray Fluorescence Measurements of the Interfacial Density of Eu Ions at Liquid–Liquid Interfaces for Solvent Back-Extraction
X-ray fluorescence near total reflection (XFNTR) is the primary technique used to measure the element-specific interfacial density of ions at liquid−liquid interfaces. Fluorescence from ions in the bulk liquids can complicate the determination of the interfacial density; consequently, measurements have been previously limited to samples without ions in the upper phase and with concentrations on the order of 10 μM or less in the lower phase. We modify the analysis of XFNTR data to account for ions in both bulk phases, then demonstrate its use in the context of rare-earth separations processes. In a model of ion stripping (i.e., back-extraction), dodecane solutions of di(2-ethylhexyl)- phosphoric acid (HDEHP) loaded with Eu(III) at the 1 mM level are placed in contact with either pure water or aqueous solutions of nitric or citric acid at pH 3. XFNTR measurements of equilibrated, quiescent samples reveal that citric acid solutions produce a disproportionately large depletion of ions from the interface compared to that from the bulk organic solution, whereas stripping by pure water or nitric acid solutions is negligible. As a result, this advance in the methodology of XFNTR may have broad applicability to the investigation of metal ions in chemical and biological processes at liquid−liquid interfaces.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Charm quark evolution in the early stages of heavy-ion collisions
Heavy quarks are predominantly generated at the initial stage of relativistic heavy-ion collisions such that heavy flavor observables have the potential to provide information on the pre-equilibrium medium dynamics. In this study, we investigate the sensitivity of D-meson $R_{AA}$ and $v_2$ to early-time charm quark dynamics in Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=5.02 TeV. We employ the IP-Glasma+MUSIC+UrQMD framework to model the evolution of the bulk medium. Charm quarks are generated using PYTHIA with nuclear parton distribution functions and evolved using Langevin dynamics within MARTINI. We observe that even though there is significant momentum broadening in the earliest stage, D-meson $R_{AA}$ and $v_2$ are only weakly sensitive to pre-equilibrium interactions.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Electric charge and strangeness-dependent directed flow splitting of produced quarks in Au+Au collisions
We report directed flow (v 1 ) of multistrange baryons (Ξ and Ω) and improved v1 data for $K¯$, $\bar{p}$, $\bar{Λ}$ and φ in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =27$ and 200 GeV from the STAR at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). We focus on particles whose constituent quarks are not transported from beam rapidity rather produced in the collisions. In midcentral collisions, we observe a coalescence sum rule for hadron combinations with identical quark content and a difference (“splitting”) in the slope of v 1 vs. rapidity for combinations having nonidentical quark content. The splitting strength appears to increase with the electric charge difference and strangeness content difference of the constituent quarks in the combinations, consistent with an electromagnetic effect. The peripheral collision statistics are insufficient to draw firm conclusions.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Dilepton Program with Time-of-Flight Detector at the STAR Experiment
Pairs of lepton and antilepton (dilepton) in a continuous mass range are one of the most experimentally challenging and golden probes of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) produced in heavy ion collisions because they do not strongly interact with the hot and dense medium, and reflect the properties of the medium at the time the dilepton is generated. The measurements of dileptons require lepton identification with high purity and high efficiency at large detector acceptance. STAR is one of two large experiments at the relativistic heavy ion collider with a primary goal of searching for the QGP and studying its properties. The STAR experiment launched a comprehensive dielectron (e + e - ) program enabled by the time-of-flight (TOF) detector that had been fully installed in 2010. In this article, we review the decade-long R&D, the construction and performance of the STAR TOF detector, and dielectron measurements, including thermal dielectron production and dielectron production from the Breit–Wheeler process. Future perspectives are also discussed.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Using baryonic charge balance functions to resolve questions about the baryo-chemistry of the quark gluon plasma
Baryon annihilations during the hadronic stage of heavy-ion collisions affects final-state baryon and antibaryon yields and final-state correlations of baryons and antibaryons. Understanding annihilation is important for addressing questions about the chemistry at the beginning of the hadronic stage and for interpreting charge-balance correlations involving baryons. Here, charge balance functions, using protons and antiprotons binned by relative momentum, rapidity, and azimuthal angle are shown to clarify the amount of annihilation in the hadronic stage. This enables a more accurate extraction of the baryo-chemistry at the beginning of the hadronic stage. Understanding annihilation is also crucial if charge balance correlations are to be used to infer the chemistry of the earliest stages of a heavy-ion collision. Furthermore, calculations are presented based on microscopic simulations of the hadronic stage coupled to a hydrodynamic description of the earlier stage, along with a detailed modeling of correlations of protons and antiprotons, known as charge-balance functions.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Measurement of Sequential ϒ Suppression in Au + Au Collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV with the STAR Experiment
We report on measurements of sequential ϒ suppression in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) through both the dielectron and dimuon decay channels. In the 0%–60% centrality class, the nuclear modification factors (𝑅 𝐴𝐴 ), which quantify the level of yield suppression in heavy-ion collisions compared to 𝑝 + 𝑝 collisions, for ϒ(1𝑆) and ϒ(2𝑆) are 0.40 ± 0.03(stat) ± 0.03(sys) ± 0.09(norm) and 0.26 ± 0.08(stat) ± 0.02(sys) ± 0.06(norm), respectively, while the upper limit of the ϒ(3𝑆) 𝑅 𝐴𝐴 is 0.17 at a 95% confidence level. This provides experimental evidence that the ϒ(3𝑆) is significantly more suppressed than the ϒ(1𝑆) at RHIC. The level of suppression for ϒ(1𝑆) is comparable to that observed at the much higher collision energy at the Large Hadron Collider. Furthermore, these results point to the creation of a medium at RHIC whose temperature is sufficiently high to strongly suppress excited ϒ states.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Thiol-Functionalized Adsorbents through Atomic Layer Deposition and Vapor-Phase Silanization for Heavy Metal Ion Removal
The removal of toxic heavy metal ions from water resources is crucial for environmental protection and public health. In this study, we address this challenge by developing a surface functionalization technique for the selective adsorption of these contaminants. Our approach involves atomic layer deposition (ALD) followed by vapor-phase silanization of porous substrates. We utilized porous silica gel powder (similar to 100 mu m particles, 89 m 2 /g surface area, similar to 30 nm pores) as an initial substrate. This powder was first coated with similar to 0.5 nm ALD Al 2 O 3 , followed by vapor-phase grafting of a thiol-functional silane. The modified powder, particularly in acidic conditions (pH = 4), showed high selectivity in adsorbing Cd(II), As(V), Pb(II), Hg(II), and Cu(II) heavy metal ions in mixed ion solutions over common benign ions (e.g., Na, K, Ca, and Mg). Langmuir adsorption isotherms and breakthrough adsorption studies were conducted to assess heavy metal binding affinity and revealed the order of Cd(II) < Pb(II) < Cu(II) < As(V) < Hg(II), with a significantly higher affinity for As(V) and Hg(II) ions. Time-dependent uptake studies demonstrated rapid removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous environments, with Hg(II) exhibiting the fastest adsorption kinetics on thiol-modified surfaces. Finally, these findings highlight the potential of ALD and vapor-phase silanization to create effective adsorbents for the targeted removal of hazardous contaminants from water.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Extending a scaling equation of state to QCD
Whether quantum chromodynamics (QCD) exhibits a phase transition at finite temperature and density is an open question. It is important for hydrodynamic modeling of heavy ion collisions and neutron-star mergers. Lattice QCD simulations have definitively shown that the transition from hadrons to quarks and gluons is a crossover when the baryon chemical potential is zero or small. Here, we combine the parametric scaling equation of state, usually associated with the three-dimensional Ising model, with a background equation of state based on a smooth crossover from hadrons to quarks and gluons. Comparison to experimental data from the Beam Energy Scan II at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider or in heavy ion experiments at other accelerators may allow the critical exponents and amplitudes in the scaling equation of state to be determined for QCD if a critical point exists.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
New proxies for second-order cumulants of conserved charges in heavy-ion collisions within the EPOS4 framework
Proxies for cumulants of baryon number 𝐵, electric charge 𝑄, and strangeness 𝑆 are usually measured in heavy-ion collisions via moments of net-number distribution of given hadronic species. Since these cumulants of conserved charges are expected to be sensitive to the existence of a critical point in the phase diagram of nuclear matter, it is crucial to ensure that the proxies used as substitutes are as close to them as possible. Hence, we use the EPOS 4 framework to generate Au + Au collisions at several collision energies of the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider beam energy scan. We compute second-order net cumulants of 𝜋, 𝐾, and 𝑝, for which experimental data have been published as well as the corresponding conserved charge cumulants. We then compare them with proxies, defined in previous lattice QCD and hadron resonance gas model studies, which are shown to reproduce more accurately their associated conserved charge cumulants. We investigate the impact of hadronic rescatterings occurring in the late evolution of the system on these quantities, as well as the amount of signal actually originating from the bulk medium which endures a phase transition.
Physics↗
Inferring nuclear structure from heavy isobar collisions using Trajectum
Nuclei with equal number of baryons but varying proton number (isobars) have many commonalities, but differ in both electric charge and nuclear structure. Relativistic collisions of such isobars provide unique opportunities to study the variation of the magnetic field, provided the nuclear structure is well understood. In this work we simulate collisions using several state-of-the-art parametrizations of the ^{96}_{40} 40 96 Zr and ^{96}_{44} 44 96 Ru isobars and show that a comparison with the exciting STAR measurement [arXiv:2109.00131] of ultrarelativistic collisions can uniquely identify the structure of both isobars. This not only provides an urgently needed understanding of the structure of the Zirconium and Ruthenium isobars, but also paves the way for more detailed studies of nuclear structure using relativistic heavy ion collisions.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Embedding a Critical Point in a Hadron to Quark–Gluon Crossover Equation of State
It is shown how to embed a critical point in a smooth background equation of state so as to yield the critical exponents and critical amplitude ratios expected of a transition in the same universality class as the liquid–gas phase transition and the 3D Ising model. There are only two independent critical exponents; the relations α + 2β + $\gamma$ = 2 and β(δ - 1) = $\gamma$ arise automatically, as does a new relation between the two critical amplitudes. The resulting equation of state has parameters which may be inferred by hydrodynamic modeling of heavy-ion collisions in the Beam Energy Scan II at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Pair Invariant Mass to Isolate Background in the Search for the Chiral Magnetic Effect in Au+Au Collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV
Quark interactions with topological gluon configurations can induce local chirality imbalance and parity violation in quantum chromodynamics, which can lead to the chiral magnetic effect (CME)-an electric charge separation along the strong magnetic field in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The CME-sensitive azimuthal correlator observable (Delta gamma) is contaminated by background arising, in part, from resonance decays coupled with elliptic anisotropy (v(2)). We report here differential measurements of the correlator as a function of the pair invariant mass (m(inv)) in 20-50% centrality Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV by the STAR experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Strong resonance background contributions to Delta gamma. are observed. At large m(inv) where this background is significantly reduced, the Delta gamma. value is found to be significantly smaller. An event-shape-engineering technique is deployed to determine the v(2) background shape as a function of m(inv). We extract a v(2)-independent and m(inv)-averaged signal Delta gamma(sig) = (0.03 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.08) x 10(-4), or (2 +/- 4 +/- 5)% of the inclusive Delta gamma (m(inv) > 0.4 GeV/c(2)) = (1.58 +/- 0.02 +/- 0.02) x 10(-4), within pion p(T) = 0.2-0.8 GeV/c and averaged over pseudorapidity ranges of -1 < eta < -0.05 and 0.05 < eta < 1. This represents an upper limit of 0.23 x 10(-4), or 15% of the inclusive result, at 95% confidence level for the m(inv)-integrated CME contribution.
Adam, J.↗
Running the gamut of high energy nuclear collisions
We present calculations of bulk properties and multiparticle correlations in a large variety of collision systems within a hybrid formalism consisting of IP-Glasma initial conditions, Music viscous relativistic hydrodynamics, and UrQMD microscopic hadronic transport. In particular, we study heavy ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), including Pb + Pb, Xe + Xe, and O + O collisions, and Au + Au, U + U, Ru + Ru, Zr + Zr, and O + O collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). We further study asymmetric systems, including p + Au, d + Au, 3 He + Au, and p + Pb collisions at various energies as well as p+p collisions at 0.5 and 13 TeV. Here, we describe experimental observables in all heavy ion systems well with one fixed set of parameters, validating the energy and system dependence of the framework. As a result, many observables in the smaller systems are also well described, although they test the limits of the model.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Search for medium effects using jets from bottom quarks in PbPb collisions at $\sqrt{^SNN}$ = 5.02 TeV
The first study of the shapes of jets arising from bottom (b) quarks in heavy ion collisions is presented. Jet shapes are studied using charged hadron constituents as a function of their radial distance from the jet axis. Lead-lead (PbPb) collision data at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV were recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC, with an integrated luminosity of 1.69 nb-1. Compared to proton-proton collisions, a redistribution of the energy in b jets to larger distances from the jet axis is observed in PbPb collisions. This medium-induced redistribution is found to be substantially larger for b jets than for inclusive jets.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
Theoretical uncertainty quantification for heavy-ion fusion
Despite recent advances and focus on rigorous uncertainty quantification for microscopic models of quantum many-body systems, the uncertainty on the dynamics of those systems has been underexplored. To address this, we have used time-dependent Hartree-Fock to examine the model uncertainty for a collection of low-energy, heavy-ion fusion reactions. Fusion reactions at near-barrier energies represent a rich test-bed for the dynamics of quantum many-body systems owing to the complex interplay of collective excitation, transfer, and static effects that determine the fusion probability of a given system. The model uncertainty is sizable for many of the systems studied and the primary contribution arises from static properties that are ill-constrained, such as the neutron radius of neutron-rich nuclei. Furthermore, these large uncertainties motivate the use of information from reactions to better constrain existing models and to infer static properties from reaction data.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗