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Nuclear Matter Effects on Jet Production at Electron-Ion Colliders
Hai Tao Li1,2,3, Ivan Vitev3
1HEP Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|July 9, 2021
Summary
Future electron-ion colliders will probe nuclear structure by studying jet production. This research theoretically disentangles nuclear parton distribution functions from final-state interactions in electron-nucleus collisions.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear physics
- High-energy particle physics
- Quantum chromodynamics
Background:
- Jet production and substructure are crucial for exploring nuclear structure and parton shower evolution in strongly interacting matter.
- Future electron-ion colliders (EICs) offer unique capabilities for these investigations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the first theoretical study of inclusive jet cross sections and jet charge at an EIC.
- To predict modifications of these observables in electron-gold versus electron-proton collisions.
- To demonstrate a method for disentangling nuclear parton distribution functions (nPDFs) from final-state interactions (FSIs).
Main Methods:
- Utilizing the soft-collinear effective theory (SCET) framework, extended to include in-medium interactions.
- Calculating inclusive jet cross sections and jet charge observables.
- Comparing predictions for electron-gold (eA) and electron-proton (eP) collisions.
Main Results:
- Predictions show how EIC's flexible energies and kinematics enhance signals for electron-nucleus (e+A) programs.
- The study theoretically demonstrates how to separate the effects of nPDFs from FSIs.
- Observable modifications in eAu relative to e+p collisions are predicted.
Conclusions:
- This theoretical framework provides a crucial tool for interpreting future EIC data.
- The proposed method enables a clearer understanding of nuclear structure and the properties of hot, dense nuclear matter.
- The findings highlight the potential of EICs to significantly advance nuclear physics research.
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