We present a collection of selected phenomena observed in J/Psi production from proton-nucleus and heavy ion collisions at energies, ranging between the SPS and LHC. The emphasis is placed on the related theoretical ideas or techniques, which are either not widely known, or offer an alternative explanation to the observed nuclear effects.
A recently developed statistical coalescence model of the J/psi production is presented. The NA50 data on the J/psi suppression pattern and the transverse mass spectra in Pb+Pb collisions at the SPS are analyzed. The model predictions for the RHIC energies are formulated. The measurements of J/psi in Au+Au collisions at RHIC are crucial for disentangling the different scenarios of charmonia formation.
The momentum diffusion effect of the quark pair due to the multiple scattering in a nuclear medium is studied to explain the observed J/psi yields in SPS experiments. The resulting suppression is found to be insufficient to reproduce the J/psi yield in Pb-Pb collisions at SPS energy.
Charmonium production and suppression in In+In and Pb+Pb reactions at SPS energies is investigated with the HSD transport approach within the 'hadronic comover model' as well as the 'QGP threshold scenario'. The results of the transport calculations for J/Psi suppression and the Psi prime to J/Psi ratio are compared with the recent data of the NA50 and NA60 Collaborations. We find that the comover absorption model - with a single parameter |M_0|^2 for the matrix element squared for charmonium-meson dissociation - performs best with respect to all data sets. The 'threshold scenario' - within di…
A kinetic equation approach is applied to model anomalous J/psi suppression at RHIC and SPS by absorption in a hadron resonance gas which successfully describes statistical hadron production in both experiments. The puzzling rapidity dependence of the PHENIX data is reproduced as a geometric effect due to a longer absorption path for J/psi production at forward rapidity.
Production of open and hidden charm hadrons in heavy ion collisions is considered within the statistical coalescence model. Charmed quarks and antiquarks are assumed to be created at the initial stage of the reaction and their number is conserved during the evolution of the system. They are distributed among open and hidden charm hadrons at the hadronization stage in accordance with laws of statistical mechanics. The model is in excellent agreement with the experimental data on J/psi production in lead-lead collisions at CERN SPS and predicts strong enhancement of the open charm multiplicity o…
The production process of quarkonia in proton-proton (pp) collision is a very good probe of the parton structure of the proton. Recent experimental data of the production of J/psi+vector boson or quarkonium pairs at the LHC and Tevatron suggest the relevance of double parton scatterings (DPS). We discuss here the single parton scattering (SPS) contribution to the J/psi +Z, J/psi +W, and J/psi +J/psi productions in hadron collisions. By revisiting the computations of the SPS contributions to the J/psi+Z and J/psi +W productions, we demonstrate that the ATLAS data in fact show evidence for DPS.
Quarkonium production in proton-proton collision is interesting in profiling the partons inside the nucleon. Recently, the impact of double parton scatterings (DPSs) was suggested by experimental data of associated quarkonium production (J/psi+Z, J/psi+W, and J/psi+J/psi) at the LHC and Tevatron, in addition to single parton scatterings (SPSs). In this proceedings contribution, we review the extraction of the effective parameter of the DPS through the evaluation of the SPS contributions under quark-hadron duality.
The production of the psi' meson in Pb+Pb collisions at CERN SPS is analyzed. It provides an evidence for charmonium regeneration via charm quark-antiquark coalescence at hadronization.
Experimental data on the onset of a so-called anomalous J/psi suppression in PbPb collisions at the SPS are considered in the framework of string percolation model. This onset is observed at a certain collision centrality, characterized by the number of nucleons-participants (Npart) related to the impact-parameter. Modified Bjorken formula calculations are performed for the local energy densities in AA collisions at different impact-parameters and with detailed account of the latest data available on the charged particles densities at midrapidity. Finally we compare variations of mean local en…
Quarkonium production in proton-proton (pp) collision provides interesting means to study the parton content and their correlations in the proton. Recent LHC and Tevatron data of J/psi + Z, J/psi + W and J/psi +J/psi production suggest the relevance of double parton scatterings (DPSs) as opposed to single parton scatterings (SPSs). In this proceedings contribution, we review the corresponding SPS contributions and discuss their upper limits set up by quark-hadron duality. These allow us to perform an improved extraction of the DPS yields and of their implications.
Parton percolation provides geometric deconfinement in the pre-equilibrium stage of nuclear collisions. The resulting parton condensate can lead to charmonium suppression. We formulate a local percolation condition viable for non-uniform collision environments and show that it correctly reproduces the suppression observed for S-U and Pb-Pb collisions at the SPS. Using this formulation, we then determine the behavior of J/Psi suppression for In-In collisions at the SPS and for Au-Au collisions at RHIC.
Finite temperature lattice QCD indicates that the charmonium ground state J/psi can survive in a quark-gluon plasma up to 1.5 T_c or more, while the excited states chi_c and psi-prime are dissociated just above T_c. We assume that the chi_c suffers the same form of suppression as that observed for the psi-prime in SPS experiments, and that the directly produced J/psi is unaffected at presently available energy densities. This provides a parameter-free description of J/psi and psi-prime suppression which agrees quite well with that observed in SPS and RHIC data.
The experimental results on the pion, strangeness and J/psi production in high energy nuclear collisions are discussed. The anomalous energy dependence of pion and strangeness production is consistent with the hypothesis that a transition to a deconfined phase takes place between the top AGS (15 AGeV) and the SPS (200 AGeV) energies. The J/psi production systematics at the SPS can be understood assuming that the J/psi mesons are created at hadronization according to the available hadronic phase space. This new interpretation of the J/psi data allows one to establish a coherent picture of high …
The strong "anomalous" J/Psi suppression observed recently by the NA50 Collaboration at CERN SPS has attracted considerable attention. Is it the first signature of a long-awaited quark-gluon plasma, or just a peculiar combination of "conventional" effects acting together to produce the puzzling pattern observed experimentally? This talk is an attempt to summarize the theoretical explanations proposed during the last two years.
The hypothesis of statistical production of J/psi mesons at hadronization is formulated and checked against experimental data. It explains in the natural way the observed scaling behavior of the J/psi to pion ratio at the CERN SPS energies. Using the multiplicities of J/psi and eta mesons the hadronization temperature T_H = 175 MeV is found, which agrees with the previous estimates of the temperature parameter based on the analysis of the hadron yield systematics.
We re-analyse the associated production of a prompt J/psi and a W boson in pp collisions at the LHC following the results of the ATLAS Collaboration. We perform the first study of the Single-Parton-Scattering (SPS) contributions at the Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) in alpha_s in the Colour-Evaporation Model (CEM), an approach based on the quark-hadron-duality. Our study provides clear indications for Double-Parton-Scattering (DPS) contributions, in particular at low transverse momenta, since our SPS CEM evaluation, which can be viewed as a conservative upper limit of the SPS yields, falls short …
Based on a Glauber model, a statistical analysis of all mid-rapidity J/psi hadroproduction and leptoproduction data on nuclear targets is carried out. This allows us to determine the J/psi-nucleon inelastic cross section, whose knowledge is crucial to interpret the J/psi suppression observed in heavy-ion collisions, at SPS and at RHIC. The values of sigma are extracted from each experiment. A clear tension between the different data sets is reported. The global fit of all data gives sigma=3.4+/-0.2 mb, which is significantly smaller than previous estimates. A similar value, sigma=3.5+/-0.2 mb,…
We study the production of charmonia and charmed hadrons in nucleus-nucleus collisions at SPS, RHIC, and LHC energies within the framework of the statistical hadronization model. Results from this model are compared to the measured yields and centrality dependence of J/psi production at SPS and RHIC energies. We explore and contrast the centrality dependence of the production of mesons with open and hidden charm at SPS, RHIC, and LHC. The sensitivity of the results to various input parameters is analyzed in detail for RHIC energy.
We study the production of the D and J/psi mesons from deconfined quark matter at CERN SPS energy. Using the MICOR microscopical coalescence model we determine the transverse momentum spectra of these charm mesons. We predict the slopes of their transverse momentum spectra in Pb+Pb collision at 158 GeV/nucleon beam energy.
Production of open and hidden charm hadrons in heavy ion collisions is considered within the statistical coalescence model. The charmed quark-antiquark pairs are assumed to be created at the initial stage of the reaction in hard parton collisions. The number of these pairs is conserved during the evolution of the system. At the hadronization stage, the charmed (anti)quarks are distributed among open and hidden charm hadrons in accordance with the laws of statistical mechanics. The model is in agreement with the experimental data on J/psi to Drell-Yan ratio in Pb+Pb collisions at SPS. This agre…
Production of J/ψmesons in heavy ion collisions is considered within the statistical coalescence model. The model is in agreement with the experimental data of the NA50 Collaboration for Pb+Pb collisions at 158 A GeV in a wide centrality range, including the so called ``anomalous'' suppression domain. The model description of the J/psi data requires, however, strong enhancement of the open charm production in central Pb+Pb collisions. This model prediction may be checked in the future SPS runs.
One observes strong suppression effects for hard probes, e.g. the production of J/psi or high-pT particles, in nucleus-nucleus (AA) collisions at RHIC. Surprisingly, the magnitude of the suppression is quite similar to that at SPS. In order to establish whether these features arise due to the presence of a thermalized system of quarks and gluons formed in the course of the collision, one should investigate the impact of suppression mechanisms which do not explicitly involve such a state. We calculate shadowing for gluons in the Glauber-Gribov theory and propose a model invoking a rapidity-depe…
We discuss the interplay of screening, absorption and regeneration effects, on the quantum mechanical evolution of quarkonia states, within a time-dependent harmonic oscillator (THO) model with complex oscillator strength. We compare the results with data for R_AA/R_AA(CNM) from CERN and RHIC experiments. In the absence of a measurement of cold nuclear matter (CNM) effects at LHC we estimate their role and interpret the recent data from the ALICE experiment. We also discuss the temperature dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the oscillator frequency which stand for screening and abso…
Charmonium production and absorption in heavy ion collisions is studied with the Ultrarelativisitic Quantum Molecular Dynamics model. We compare the scenario of universal and time independent color-octet dissociation cross sections with one of distinct color-singlet J/psi, psi' and chi_c states, evolving from small, color transparent configurations to their asymptotic sizes. The measured J/psi production cross sections in pA and AB collisions at SPS energies are consistent with both - purely hadronic - scenarios. The predicted rapidity dependence of J/psi suppression can be used to discriminat…
In central collisions at RHIC, the initial production of heavy quarks will for the first time yield multiple pairs of c-cbar in each central event. If a region of deconfined quarks and gluons is subsequently formed, a new mechanism for the formation of heavy quarkonium bound states will be activated. This will result from the mobility of heavy quarks in the deconfined region, such that bound states can be formed from a quark and an antiquark which were originally produced in separate incoherent interactions. Our model estimates of this effect predict a dramatic increase in the number of observ…
We study the Single-Parton-Scattering (SPS) production of double quarkonia (J/psi+J/psi, J/psi+Upsilon, and Upsilon+Upsilon) in pp and pp(bar) collisions at the LHC and the Tevatron as measured by the CMS, ATLAS, LHCb, and D0 experiments in the Colour-Evaporation Model (CEM), based on the quark-hadron-duality, including Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) QCD corrections up to alpha_s^5. To do so, we also perform the first true NLO --up to alpha_s^4-- study of the p_T-differential cross section for single-quarkonium production. This allows us to fix the non-perturbative CEM parameters at NLO accuracy …
The production of charmonia in heavy-ion collisions is investigated within a kinetic theory framework simultaneously accounting for dissociation and regeneration processes in both quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and hadron-gas phases of the reaction. In-medium modifications of open-charm states (c-quarks, D-mesons) and the survival of J/psi mesons in the QGP are included as inferred from lattice QCD. Pertinent consequences on equilibrium charmonium abundances are evaluated and found to be especially relevant to explain the measured centrality dependence of the psi'/psi ratio at SPS. Predictions for r…
The distributions of outgoing protons and charged hadrons in high energy proton-nucleus collisions are described rather well by a linear extrapolation from proton-proton collisions. This linear extrapolation is applied to precisely measured Drell-Yan cross sections for 800 GeV protons incident on a variety of nuclear targets. The deviation from linear scaling in the atomic number A can be accounted for by energy degradation of the proton as it passes through the nucleus if account is taken of the time delay of particle production due to quantum coherence. We infer an average proper coherence t…
We demonstrate that the recent studies of J/psi-pair production by CMS at the LHC and by D0 at the Tevatron reveal the presence of different production mechanisms in different kinematical regions. We find out that next-to-leading-order single parton scattering contributions at alpha_s^5 dominate the yield at large transverse momenta of the pair. Our analysis further emphasises the importance of double parton scatterings --which are expected to dominate the yield at large J/psi-rapidity differences-- at large invariant masses of the pair in the CMS acceptance, and thereby solve a large discrepa…
Charmonium states are expected to be considerably suppressed in the case of quark-gluon plasma formation in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. However, a robust identification of suppression patterns as signatures of a deconfined QCD medium requires a detailed understanding of the "normal nuclear absorption" already present in proton-nucleus collisions, where the charmonium production cross sections increase less than linearly with the number of target nucleons. We analyse the J/psi production cross sections measured in proton-nucleus collisions in fixed target experiments, with proton beam ene…
The production of charmonia in relativistic heavy-ion collisions is formulated within the framework of a quantum kinetic theory simultaneously accounting for breakup and recombination processes. The survival probability of J/Psi mesons is evaluated for a Mott-Hagedorn resonance gas, whereby the pattern of anomalous J/Psi suppression at CERN-SPS can be explained by a strong coupling to open-charm states and their in-medium modification. Recent data for charmonium suppression from Au-Au collisions at RHIC are discussed.
A statistical model of the early stage of central nucleus--nucleus (A+A) collisions is developed. We suggest a description of the confined state with several free parameters fitted to a compilation of A+A data at the AGS. For the deconfined state a simple Bag model equation of state is assumed. The model leads to the conclusion that a Quark Gluon Plasma is created in central nucleus--nucleus collisions at the SPS. This result is in quantitative agreement with existing SPS data on pion and strangeness production and gives a natural explanation for their scaling behaviour. The localization and t…
In the energy range of RHIC and LHC the mechanisms of nuclear suppression of charmonia are expected to be strikingly different from what is known for the energy of the SPS. One cannot think any more of charmonium produced on a bound nucleon which then attenuates as it passes through the rest of the nucleus. The coherence length of charmonium production substantially exceeds the nuclear radius in the new energy range. Therefore the production amplitudes on different nucleons, rather than the cross sections, add up and interfere, i.e. shadowing is at work. So far no theoretical tool has been ava…
We review the hadro-production data presently available on open charm and beauty absolute production cross-sections, collected by experiments at CERN, DESY and Fermilab. The published charm production cross-section values are updated, in particular for the "time evolution" of the branching ratios. These measurements are compared to LO pQCD calculations, as a function of the collision energy, using recent parametrisations of the parton distribution functions. We then estimate, including nuclear effects of the parton densities, the charm and beauty production cross-sections relevant for measurem…
We describe the remarkable accomplishments of the current heavy ion Pb--Pb collision experiments involving strange particle production, carried out at 158A GeV at CERN--SPS. These experimental results, together with the earlier 200A GeV S-induced reactions, imply that, at central rapidity, a novel mechanism of strangeness production arises, accompanied by excess entropy formation. We argue that: These results are consistent with the formation of a space-time localized, highly excited, dense state of matter; The freeze-out properties of strange hadrons are suggestive of the formation of a color…