Soft open charm production in Heavy-Ion Collisions.

Area of Science:

• High-energy nuclear physics
• Quantum chromodynamics (QCD)
• Particle physics

Background:

• Open charm production is a key probe of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP).
• Understanding in-medium effects is crucial for interpreting heavy-ion collision data.
• Previous models did not fully capture the impact of strong longitudinal color electric fields.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of strong longitudinal color electric fields on open charm production.
• To quantify the enhancement of charm production cross-sections in nucleus-nucleus (A+A) collisions.
• To compare model predictions with experimental data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).

Main Methods:

• Utilized the HIJING/BB version 2.0 model for simulations.
• Incorporated in-medium effects, including a threefold increase in effective string tension.
• Analyzed nucleus-nucleus collisions at 200A GeV and predicted outcomes at Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies.

Main Results:

• Observed a sizable (approximately 60%-70%) enhancement of total charm production cross-sections (sigma (cc)(NN)).
• The nuclear modification factor (Npart) showed suppression at moderate transverse momentum (p(T)).
• Predicted an order of magnitude increase in sigma (cc)(NN) at LHC energies.

Conclusions:

• Strong longitudinal color electric fields significantly enhance open charm production in A+A collisions.
• The HIJING/BB model provides a good description of charm production, including suppression effects.
• Future studies at LHC energies are expected to confirm these predictions.