Direct Photon Production in High-Energy Heavy Ion Collisions within the Integrated Hydrokinetic Model

The results on description of direct photon yields, transverse momentum spectra, and flow harmonics, measured in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for different collision centrality classes, analyzed within the Integrated Hydrokinetic Model (iHKM) are reviewed. The iHKM simulation results, corresponding to the two opposite approaches to the matter evolution treatment at the final stage of the system’s expansion within the model, namely, the chemically equilibrated and the chemically frozen evolution, are compared. The so-called “direct photon puzzle” is addressed, and its possible solution, suggesting the account for additional photon emission at confinement, is considered.

Analyzing Transverse Momentum Spectra by a New Method in High-Energy Collisions

We analyzed the transverse momentum spectra of positively and negatively charged pions (π+ and π−), positively and negatively charged kaons (K+ and K−), protons and antiprotons (p and p¯), as well as ϕ produced in mid-(pseudo)rapidity region in central nucleus–nucleus (AA) collisions over a center-of-mass energy range from 2.16 to 2760 GeV per nucleon pair. The transverse momentum of the considered particle is regarded as the joint contribution of two participant partons which obey the modified Tsallis-like transverse momentum distribution and have random azimuths in superposition. The calculation of transverse momentum distribution of particles is performed by the Monte Carlo method and compared with the experimental data measured by international collaborations. The excitation functions of effective temperature and other parameters are obtained in the considered energy range. With the increase of collision energy, the effective temperature parameter increases quickly and then slowly. The boundary appears at around 5 GeV, which means the change of reaction mechanism and/or generated matter.

Initial-State Temperature of Light Meson Emission Source From Squared Momentum Transfer Spectra in High-Energy Collisions

The squared momentum transfer spectra of light mesons, π0, π+, η, and ρ0, produced in high-energy virtual photon-proton (γ*p) → meson + nucleon process in electron-proton (ep) collisions measured by the CLAS Collaboration are analyzed by the Monte Carlo calculations, where the transfer undergoes from the incident γ* to emitted meson or equivalently from the target proton to emitted nucleon. In the calculations, the Erlang distribution from a multi-source thermal model is used to describe the transverse momentum spectra of emitted particles. Our results show that the average transverse momentum (⟨pT⟩) and the initial-state temperature (Ti) increase from lower squared photon virtuality (Q2) and Bjorken variable (xB) to higher one. This renders that the excitation degree of emission source, which is described by ⟨pT⟩ and Ti, increases with increasing of Q2 and xB.

Study of Kinetic Freeze-Out Parameters as a Function of Rapidity in pp Collisions at CERN SPS Energies

We used the blast wave model with the Boltzmann–Gibbs statistics and analyzed the experimental data measured by the NA61/SHINE Collaboration in inelastic (INEL) proton–proton collisions at different rapidity slices at different center-of-mass energies. The particles used in this study were π+, π−, K+, K− and p¯. We extracted the kinetic freeze-out temperature, transverse flow velocity, and kinetic freeze-out volume from the transverse momentum spectra of the particles. We observed that the kinetic freeze-out temperature is rapidity and energy dependent, while the transverse flow velocity does not depend on them. Furthermore, we observed that the kinetic freeze-out volume is energy dependent, but it remains constant with changing the rapidity. We also observed that all three parameters are mass dependent. In addition, with the increase of mass, the kinetic freeze-out temperature increases, and the transverse flow velocity, as well as kinetic freeze-out volume decrease.

Effects of coalescence and isospin symmetry on the freezeout of light nuclei and their anti-particles

The transverse momentum spectra of light nuclei (deuteron, triton and helion) produced in various centrality intervals in Gold–Gold (Au–Au), Lead–Lead (Pb–Pb) and proton–Lead (p–Pb) collisions, as well as in inelastic (INEL) proton–proton (p–p) collisions are analyzed by the blast wave model with Boltzmann Gibbs statistics. The model results are nearly in agreement with the experimental data measured by STAR and ALICE Collaborations in special transverse momentum ranges. We extracted the bulk properties in terms of kinetic freezeout temperature, transverse flow velocity and freezeout volume. It is observed that deuteron and anti-deuteron freezeout later than triton and helion as well as their anti-particles due to its smaller mass, while helion and triton, and anti-helion and anti-triton freezeout at the same time due to isospin symmetry at higher energies. It is also observed that light nuclei freezeout earlier than their anti-nuclei due to the large coalescence of nucleons for light nuclei compared to their anti-nuclei. The kinetic freezeout temperature, transverse flow velocity and kinetic freezeout volume decrease from central to peripheral collisions. Furthermore, the transverse flow velocity depends on mass of the particle which decreases with increasing the mass of the particle.

Measurements of $${\Xi \left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $$ and $${\overline{\Xi }\left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $$ production in proton–proton interactions at $$\sqrt{s_{NN}}$$ = 17.3 $$\text{ GeV }$$ in the NA61/SHINE experiment

Double-differential yields of $${\Xi \left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $$ Ξ 1530 0 and $${\overline{\Xi }\left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $$ Ξ ¯ 1530 0 resonances produced in p+p interactions were measured at a laboratory beam momentum of 158 $$\text{ GeV }\!/\!c$$ GeV / c . This measurement is the first of its kind in p+p interactions below LHC energies. It was performed at the CERN SPS by the NA61/SHINE collaboration. Double-differential distributions in rapidity and transverse momentum were obtained from a sample of $$26\times 10^6$$ 26 × 10 6 inelastic events. The spectra are extrapolated to full phase space resulting in mean multiplicity of $${\Xi \left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $$ Ξ 1530 0 ($$6.73 \pm 0.25\pm 0.67)\times 10^{-4}$$ 6.73 ± 0.25 ± 0.67 ) × 10 - 4 and $${\overline{\Xi }\left( 1530\right) ^{0}} $$ Ξ ¯ 1530 0 ($$2.71 \pm 0.18\pm 0.18)\times 10^{-4}$$ 2.71 ± 0.18 ± 0.18 ) × 10 - 4 . The rapidity and transverse momentum spectra and mean multiplicities were compared to predictions of string-hadronic and statistical model calculations.

The qT and ∆ϕ spectra in W and Z production at the LHC at N3LL′+N2LO

The production of weak gauge bosons, W± and Z, are at the core of the LHC precision measurement program. Their transverse momentum spectra as well as their pairwise ratios are key theoretical inputs to many high-precision analyses, ranging from the W mass measurement to the determination of parton distribution functions. Owing to the different properties of the W and Z boson and the different accessible fiducial regions for their measurement, a simple one-dimensional correlation is insufficient to capture the differing vector and axial-vector dynamics of the produced lepton pair. We propose to correlate them in two observables, the transverse momentum qT of the lepton pair and its azimuthal separation ∆ϕ. Both quantities are purely transverse and therefore accessible in all three processes, either directly or by utilising the missing transverse momentum of the event. We calculate all the single-differential qT and ∆ϕ as well as the double-differential (qT, ∆ϕ) spectra for all three processes at N3LL′+N2LO accuracy, resumming small transverse momentum logarithms in the soft-collinear effective theory approach and including all singlet and non-singlet contributions. Using the double-differential cross sections we build the pairwise ratios $$ {\mathrm{\mathcal{R}}}_{W^{+}/Z} $$ ℛ W + / Z , $$ {\mathrm{\mathcal{R}}}_{W^{-}/Z} $$ ℛ W − / Z , and $$ {\mathrm{\mathcal{R}}}_{W^{+}/{W}^{-}} $$ ℛ W + / W − and determine their uncertainties assuming fully correlated, partially correlated, and uncorrelated uncertainties in the respective numerators and denominators. In the preferred partially correlated case we find uncertainties of less than 1% in most phase space regions and up to 3% in the lowest qT region.

Analysis of kinetic freeze-out temperature and transverse flow velocity in nucleus–nucleus and proton–proton collisions at same center-of-mass energy

Transverse momentum spectra of different types of identified charged particles in central Gold–Gold (Au–Au) collisions and inelastic (INEL) or nonsingle diffractive (NSD) proton–proton (pp) collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), as well as in central and peripheral Lead–Lead (Pb–Pb) collisions, and INEL or NSD pp collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are analyzed by the blast-wave model with Tsallis statistics. The model results are approximately in agreement with the experimental data measured by STAR, PHENIX and ALICE Collaborations in special transverse momentum ranges. Kinetic freeze-out (KFO) temperature and transverse flow velocity are extracted from the transverse momentum spectra of the particles. It is shown that KFO temperature of the emission source depends on mass of the particles, which reveals the mass-dependent KFO scenario in collisions at RHIC and LHC. Furthermore, the KFO temperature and transverse flow velocity in central nucleus–nucleus (AA) collisions are larger than in peripheral collisions, and both of them are slightly larger in peripheral nucleus–nucleus collisions or almost equivalent to that in proton–proton collisions at the same center-of-mass energy which shows their similar thermodynamic nature.

Investigating high energy proton proton collisions with a multi-phase transport model approach based on PYTHIA8 initial conditions

The striking resemblance of high multiplicity proton-proton (pp) collisions at the LHC to heavy ion collisions challenges our conventional wisdom on the formation of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). A consistent explanation of the collectivity phenomena in pp will help us to understand the mechanism that leads to the QGP-like signals in small systems. In this study, we introduce a transport model approach connecting the initial conditions provided by PYTHIA8 with subsequent AMPT rescatterings to study the collective behavior in high energy pp collisions. The multiplicity dependence of light hadron productions from this model is in reasonable agreement with the pp $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ s = 13 TeV experimental data. It is found in the comparisons that both the partonic and hadronic final state interactions are important for the generation of the radial flow feature of the pp transverse momentum spectra. The study also shows that the long range two particle azimuthal correlation in high multiplicity pp events is sensitive to the proton sub-nucleon spatial fluctuations.