Due to the presence of a large orbital angular momentum of the parton system produced at the early stage of non-central heavy-ion collisions, quarks and anti-quarks are shown to be polarized in the direction opposite to the reaction plane which is determined by the impact-parameter and the beam momentum. The global quark polarization via elastic scattering was first calculated in an effective static potential model, then using QCD at finite temperature with the hard-thermal-loop re-summed gluon propagator. The measurable consequences are discussed. Global hyperon polarization from the hadronization of polarized quarks are predicted independent of the hadronization scenarios. It has also been shown that the global polarization of quarks and anti-quarks leads also to spin alignment of vector mesons. Dedicated measurements at RHIC are underway and some of the preliminary results are obtained. In this presentation, the basic idea and main results of global quark polarization are presented. The direct consequences such as global hyperon polarization and spin alignment are summarized.
We calculate the polarization of $Λ$ hyperons in Au-Au collisions at RHIC Beam Energy Scan range $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=7.7, \dots, 200$ GeV in a state-of-the-art 3+1 dimensional cascade + viscous hydro model vHLLE+UrQMD. We find that the polarization of $Λ$ in the out-of-plane direction decreases substantially with collision energy. We explore the connection between the polarization signal and thermal vorticity and discuss the feed-down and hadronic rescattering effects on the mean polarization of all produced $Λ$ hyperons.
This is prepared for a featured article in Nuclear Physics News. Recently, the global polarization of Λand \barΛ hyperons in heavy-ion collisions (HIC) has been observed by the STAR Collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in Brookhaven National Laboratory. The discovery confirms the theoretical prediction made more than ten years ago and indicates that the quark gluon plasma (QGP) produced in HIC possesses a vorticity as high as 10^21s^-1, much higher than any other fluid observed in nature. This opens a new window to study properties of QGP and a new direction in high energy heav…
It is widely believed that the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) might be formed in the current heavy ion collisions. It is also widely recognized that the relativistic hydrodynamics is one of the best tools for describing the process of expansion and particlization of QGP. In this paper, by taking into account the effects of thermal motion, a hydrodynamic model including phase transition from QGP state to hadronic state is used to analyze the rapidity and transverse momentum distributions of identified charged particles produced in heavy ion collisions. A comparison is made between the theoretical res…
Polarization of $Λ$ hyperons and their antiparticles is calculated in a 3+1 dimensional viscous hydrodynamic model with initial state from UrQMD hadron/string cascade. We find that, along with recent results from STAR, the mean polarization at fixed centrality decreases as a function of collision energy from 1.5% at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=7.7$ GeV to 0.2% at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=200$ GeV. We explore the effects which lead to such collision energy dependence, feed-down corrections and a difference between $Λ$ and $\barΛ$.
Extremely large angular orbital momentum can be produced in non-central heavy-ion collisions, leading to a strong transverse polarization of partons that scatter through the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) due to spin-orbital coupling. We develop a perturbative approach to describe the formation and spacetime evolution of quark polarization inside the QGP. Polarization from both the initial hard scatterings and interactions with the QGP have been consistently described using the quark-potential scattering approach, which has been coupled to realistic initial condition calculation and the subsequent (…
We review the properties of the strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma (QGP) at finite temperature $T$ and baryon chemical potential $μ_B$ as created in heavy-ion collisions at ultrarelativistic energies. The description of the strongly interacting (non-perturbative) QGP in equilibrium is based on the effective propagators and couplings from the Dynamical QuasiParticle Model (DQPM) that is matched to reproduce the equation-of-state of the partonic system above the deconfinement temperature $T_C$ from lattice QCD. Based on a microscopic transport description of heavy-ion collisions we discuss …
Proton-proton ($pp$) collision has been considered as a baseline to study the system produced in relativistic heavy-ion (AA) collisions with the basic assumption that no thermal medium is formed in $pp$ collisions. This warrants a cautious analysis of the system produced in $pp$ collisions at relativistic energies.In this work we investigate the charmonium suppression in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 5.02, 7$ and $13$ TeV energies. Further, charmonium suppression has been studied for various event multiplicities and transverse momenta by including the mechanisms of color screening, gluonic di…
We investigate the effect of the electromagnetic field generated in relativistic heavy-ion collisions on the dissociation of $Υ$ mesons. The electromagnetic field is calculated using a simple model which characterizes the emerging quark-gluon plasma (QGP) by its conductivity only. A numerical estimate of the field strength experienced by $Υ$ mesons embedded in the expanding QGP and its consequences on the $Υ$ dissociation is made. The electromagnetic field effects prove to be negligible compared to the established strong-interaction suppression mechanisms.
Probing the QCD Phase Structure with Dileptons from SIS to LHC Energies
Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS)(法兰克福高等研究所);Helmholtz Research Academy Hessen for FAIR (HFHF)(黑森亥姆霍兹FAIR研究院);GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Physics(重离子物理亥姆霍兹中心);Institute for Theoretical Physics, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University(约翰·沃尔夫冈·歌德大学理论物理研究所);GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung GmbH(重离子研究亥姆霍兹中心有限公司);State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Institute of Quantum Matter, South China Normal University(华南师范大学量子物质研究所核物理与技术国家重点实验室)
Momentum space anisotropy present in the quark and gluon distribution functions in relativistic heavy ion collisions induces Chromo-Weibel instability in the hot QCD medium created therein. The impact of the Chromo-Weibel instability on the dynamics of a heavy-quark (HQ) traversing in the QGP medium is investigated within the framework of kinetic theory by studying the momentum and temperature behavior of HQ drag and diffusion coefficients. The physics of anisotropy is captured in an effective Vlasov term in the transport equation. The effects of the instability are handled by making a relatio…
The hot and dense matter formed in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is termed quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The evolution of the medium is characterized by non-trivial velocity and vorticity fields, resulting in the polarization of the produced particles. The spin polarization, being sensitive to the hydrothermal (flow velocity and temperature) gradients, is unique compared to conventional observables that are sensitive to the hydrothermal fields only. Hence, the recent measurements of global and local hyperon spin polariza…
The non-equilibrium properties of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) have been a topic of intensive research. In this contribution, we explore the nature of heavy quarkonia immersed in a QGP with bulk viscosity. We incorporate the bulk viscous effect through the deformation of the distribution functions of thermal quarks and gluons, with which the color dielectric permittivity can be computed. We use the color dielectric permittivity to compute the heavy quark potential inside a bulk viscous plasma and solve the Schrödinger equation using the potential to obtain the physical properties such as binding e…
We perform a global Bayesian analysis of a modern event-by-event heavy-ion collision model and LHC data at $\sqrt s$ = 2.76 and 5.02 TeV. After calibration, the model simultaneously describes multiplicity, transverse momentum, and flow data at both beam energies. We report new constraints on the scaling of initial-state entropy deposition and QGP transport coefficients, including a quantitative estimate of the temperature-dependent shear viscosity $(η/s)(T)$.
Hadronic resonances, having very short lifetime, like $\rm{K}^{*0}$, can act as useful probes to understand and estimate lifetime of hadronic phase in ultra-relativistic proton-proton, p--Pb and heavy-ion collisions. Resonances with relatively longer lifetime, like $ϕ$ meson, can serve as a tool to locate the QGP phase boundary. We estimate a lower limit of hadronic phase lifetime in Cu--Cu and Au--Au collisions at RHIC, and in pp, p--Pb and Pb--Pb collisions at different LHC collision energies. Also, we obtain the effective temperature of $ϕ$ meson using Boltzmann-Gibbs Blast-Wave function, w…
We investigate the properties of the QCD matter across the deconfinement phase transition in the scope of the parton-hadron string dynamics (PHSD) transport approach. We present here in particular the results on the electromagnetic radiation, i.e. photon and dilepton production, in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. By comparing our calculations for the heavy-ion collisions to the available data, we determine the relative importance of the various production sources and address the possible origin of the observed strong elliptic flow $v_2$ of direct photons. We argue that the different central…
Proton-proton (pp) collisions have been traditionally used as a baseline measurement in the search for a deconfined state of matter in heavy-ion collisions at ultrarelativistic energies. The unprecedented collision energies that are available at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Laboratory for Nuclear Research (CERN) have illuminated new challenges in understanding the possible formation of droplets of this deconfined matter of partonic degrees of freedom in hadronic collisions, especially in high-multiplicity events. Enhancement of multi-strange particles compared to pions, degr…
Elliptic flow in 200 A GeV Au+Au collisions and 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions: insights from viscous hydrodynamics + hadron cascade hybrid model
利用新近发展的将粘性流体力学与强子级联模型相结合的混合模型VISHNU,研究了200 A GeV Au+Au碰撞和2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb碰撞中不同中心仓下的微分和积分椭圆流v2.我们发现,从相对论重离子对撞机(RHIC)到大型强子对撞机(LHC)能量,平均夸克-胶子等离子体(QGP)比剪切粘度η/s略有增加。然而,进一步的研究表明,(eta/s)_QGP(T)与温度的依赖关系不同,不能仅通过拟合光谱和v_2来唯一地约束(eta/s)_QGP(T)的形式。根据我们目前的理解,QGP流体在LHC能量达到的温度范围内是否更粘或更完美的问题仍然是开放的。
We investigate whether the quark gluon plasma (QGP) is created in small colliding systems from analyses of various hadron yields and their ratios in proton-proton (p+p), proton-lead (p+Pb) and lead-lead (Pb+Pb) collisions at LHC energies. Recently, the ALICE Collaboration reports enhancement of yield ratio of multi-strange hadrons to charged pions as a function of multiplicity at mid-rapidity. Motivated by these results, we develop the dynamical core-corona initialization framework and find that our results describe tendencies of the ALICE data especially for multi-strange hadrons. These resul…
This work studies the thermal production of $J/ψ$ and $ψ(2S)$ with Boltzmann transport model in the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) produced in $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02$ TeV Pb-Pb collisions. $J/ψ$ nuclear modification factors are studied in details with the mechanisms of primordial production and the recombination of charm and anti-charm quarks in the thermal medium. $ψ(2S)$ binding energy is much smaller in the hot medium compared with the ground state, so $ψ(2S)$ with middle and low $p_T$ can be mainly thermally regenerated in the later stage of QGP expansions which enables $ψ(2S)$ inherit larger colle…
The performed systematic meta-analysis of the quality of data description (QDD) of existing event generators of nucleus-nucleus collisions allows us to extract a very important physical information. Our meta-analysis is dealing with the results of 10 event generators which describe data measured in the range of center of mass collision energies from 3.1 GeV to 17.3 GeV. It considers the mean deviation squared per number of experimental points obtained by these event generators, i.e. the QDD, as the results of independent meta-measurements. These generators and their QDDs are divided in two gro…
The total angular momentum is conserved in the evolution of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) created in heavy-ion collision, and consists of two sectors: the orbital angular momentum (OAM) caused by kinetic motion, and the spin, an intrinsic degree of freedom of quarks and gluons. Microscopic scattering processes allow the conversion between these two components, hence the spin density could eventually have non-trivial influence on the QGP evolution. A hydrodynamic theory, with the spin polarization effect properly taken into account, is required to quantitatively study the polarization rate for o…
We systematically compare an event-by-event transport+viscous hydrodynamics hybrid model to data from the RHIC beam energy scan using a general Bayesian method. We demonstrate how the inclusion of multistrange hadron observables affects the outcome of the Bayesian analysis and conduct an in depth analysis of the viability of $ϕ$ and $Ω$ as probes of the transition region between a deconfined quark-gluon plasma and hadronic phase in heavy ion collisions at higher-end RHIC collision energies. Utilizing UrQMD to model the final hadronic interactions, we examine the collision rates of $ϕ$ and $Ω$ …
We utilize known exact analytic solutions of perfect fluid hydrodynamics to analytically calculate the polarization of baryons produced in heavy ion collisions. Assuming local thermodynamical equilibrium also for spin degrees of freedom, baryons get a net polarization at their formation (freeze-out). This polarization depends on the time evolution of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), which can be described as an almost perfect fluid. By using exact analytic solutions, we thus can analyze the necessity of rotation (and vorticity) for non-zero net polarization. In this paper we give the first analyt…
The transverse momentum distribution of identified hadrons from recent years are analyzed within the thermodynamically consistent formulation of non-extensive statistics. A wide range of center-of-mass energies and average event multiplicities are studied for various hadron species. We demonstrate that the average event multiplicity is a key variable in the study of high-energy collisions and a smooth transition in the description from small to large systems is possible. For this purpose the non-extensive statistical approach is more than appropriate. The validity of the non-extensive descript…
We study the formation of fluid vorticity and the hyperon polarization in heavy-ion collisions at NICA energies in the framework of the Parton-Hadron-String Dynamic Model, taking into account both hadronic and quark-gluonic (partonic) degrees of freedom. The vorticity properties in peripheral Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$7.7\,GeV are demonstrated and confronted with other models. The obtained result for the $Λ$ polarization is in agreement with the experimental data by the STAR collaboration, whereas the model is not able to explain the observed high values of the anti-hyperon $\barΛ$ p…