Measurement of Identified Charged Hadron Anisotropic Flow in D+Au Collisions
Measurement of Identified Charged Hadron Anisotropic Flow in D+Au Collisions

Author: Matthew Benjamin Mendoza

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 9781369656978

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Collective flow has historically been an indicator that nuclear matter created in heavy ion collisions has undergone a phase change to a novel state where its constituent particles are deconfined. This phase, called a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), has many characteristics that are signature of its creation. Chief among these is the collective behavior of the nuclear matter indicated by its anisotropic flow, as well as high pT particle suppression, baryon enhancement at mid-p T, and the enhancement of strange quark containing particles above binary scaling expectations. Recent results from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) show evidence of collective flow in the simpler p+Pb system, implying that a QGP may be formed in smaller systems than previously thought. An elliptic flow measurement with identified particles in d+Au collisions could reveal more about the nuclear matter created in these simpler systems. The Pioneering High Energy Nuclear Ion Experiment, or PHENIX, Time of Flight detector used in conjunction with its Aerogel Cherenkov Counter can provide particle identification with good proton/kaon/pion separation for pT

Production of Beauty-hadron Decay Electrons in Pb-Pb Collisions at [square Root of S̳NN]
Production of Beauty-hadron Decay Electrons in Pb-Pb Collisions at [square Root of S̳NN]

Author: Erin Frances Gauger

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

High energy heavy-ion collisions provide us with the unique opportunity to study the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) in a laboratory setting. The QGP is a special state of matter in which quarks and gluons, fundamental particles that compromise the nuclei of atoms, are deconfined, not bound into larger particles (hadrons). The QGP lasts for only a short time - on the order of 10−23 seconds - and therefore cannot be measured directly. However, a useful probe of the QGP is the beauty quark, which is created in the first moments of a heavy-ion collision and experiences the full evolution of the QGP. As they travel through the QGP, beauty quarks interact with the other partons (quarks and gluons) via elastic and inelastic scattering [gluon bremsstrahlung], produce quark and antiquark pairs, and lose energy. The beauty quarks later form larger bound states (like B mesons), which further decay into particles such as electrons before reaching detectors. In this thesis, electrons from beauty hadron decays (beauty-decay electrons) are measured in heavy ion collisions of lead-on-lead ions (Pb-Pb) at center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair √sNN = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The analysis is conducted separately for collisions with 0-10% centrality (i.e. most "head-on" collisions) and 30-50% centrality (i.e. slightly off-center collisions). The results will be compared with previous measurements of heavy-flavor (charm and beauty) decay electrons and with theoretical predictions