English

Corona effect in AA collisions at LHC

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2017-10-02 v3 Nuclear Experiment Nuclear Theory

Abstract

Following our earlier finding based on RHIC data on the dominant jet production from nucleus corona region, we reconsider this effect in nucleus-nucleus collisions at LHC energy. Our hypothesis was based on experimental data, which raised the idea of a finite formation time for the produced medium. At RHIC energy and in low density corona region this time reaches about 2 fm/c. All observed high p_t particles are produced in the corona region and have a chance to escape during this 2 fm/c. After that, the formed high density matter absorbs all jets. Following this hypothesis, the nuclear modification factor R_{AA} should be independent on particle momentum and be flat versus p_t. At the same time, we describe the finite azimuthal anisotropy of high p_t particles, v_2. A separate prediction held that, at LHC energy, the formation time in the corona region should be two times smaller, about 1 fm/c. New data at LHC show that R_{AA} is not flat and is rising with p_t. We add to our original hypothesis an assumption that a fast parton traversing the produced medium loses the fixed portion of its energy. A shift of about 7 GeV (I would call it as a parton binding energy) from the original power law p^{-6} production cross section in pp explains well all the observed R_{AA} dependencies. The shift of about 7 GeV is also valid at RHIC energy, where the cross section follows a power law with about p^{-8} and this shift explains a very slow rise of R_{AA} seen for neutral pions with p_t above 15 GeV/c. We also show that the observed at LHC dependence of v_2 at high p_t and our previous predictions agree.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1703.09021,
  title  = {Corona effect in AA collisions at LHC},
  author = {V. S. Pantuev},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1703.09021},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

Published version, 4 pages, 5 figures. Only on-line abstract changed by adding notation "parton binding energy"

R2 v1 2026-06-22T18:57:45.587Z