J/ψ elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=2.76 TeV

Area of Science:

• High-energy nuclear physics
• Quark-gluon plasma studies
• Particle physics

Background:

• Understanding the properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) is crucial.
• Heavy-ion collisions create the QGP, a state of deconfined quarks and gluons.
• J/ψ mesons are important probes of the QGP.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure the inclusive J/ψ elliptic flow (v2) for the first time.
• To investigate the dependence of J/ψ v2 on collision centrality and transverse momentum.
• To provide insights into J/ψ production mechanisms in heavy-ion collisions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
• Analyzed lead-lead (Pb-Pb) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV per nucleon pair.
• Measured J/ψ elliptic flow in the forward rapidity region (2.5 < y < 4.0) and for transverse momentum (pT) from 0 to 10 GeV/c.

Main Results:

• Observed an indication of non-zero J/ψ elliptic flow (v2) in semi-central Pb-Pb collisions.
• The maximum measured v2 value was 0.116 ± 0.046 (stat) ± 0.029 (syst) for J/ψ in the 2 ≤ pT < 4 GeV/c range.
• The results complement previous ALICE measurements of the J/ψ nuclear modification factor.

Conclusions:

• The measured J/ψ elliptic flow supports the scenario of significant J/ψ production from charm quarks within the deconfined partonic phase.
• This finding contributes to understanding the complex interplay between heavy quarks and the QGP.
• Further studies are needed to refine measurements and explore other heavy quarkonia states.