Probing Azimuthal Alignment in Heavy-Ion Collisions: Clusterization Effects
Abstract
The influence of kinematic constraints and event selection on the emergence of the alignment phenomenon observed in cosmic-ray experiments is studied within the HYDJET++ model. It is demonstrated that the high degree of alignment, previously identified for realistic values of the transverse momentum disbalance of the most energetic particles, is also observed at the level of the most energetic clusters. In high-multiplicity events, the clustering procedure plays a crucial role in resolving individual particle groups on the detection plane, allowing a more accurate characterization of alignment patterns. These results highlight the combined effects of cluster formation and momentum conservation in shaping the observed azimuthal correlations.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2512.03725,
title = {Probing Azimuthal Alignment in Heavy-Ion Collisions: Clusterization Effects},
author = {Aleksei Nikolskii and Igor Lokhtin and Alexander Snigirev},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.03725},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
36 pages, 9 figures, 11 tables. Definitions and comments have been added to the manuscript. Version accepted for publication in Physical Review D