Probing the Short-Distance Structure of the Quark-Gluon Plasma with Energy Correlators

Area of Science:

• High-energy nuclear physics
• Quantum chromodynamics
• Heavy-ion collisions

Background:

• Energy-energy correlators (EECs) probe jet evolution in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP).
• Understanding QGP dynamics is crucial for nuclear physics.
• Previous studies lacked complete EEC calculations in realistic collision simulations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To perform the first complete calculation of EECs in heavy-ion collisions.
• To analyze the dynamics underlying EEC modifications in the QGP.
• To investigate the sensitivity of EECs to the in-medium interaction scale.

Main Methods:

• Realistic simulations of high-energy heavy-ion collisions.
• Calculation of energy-energy correlators (EECs).
• Analysis of jet propagation in a uniform medium to dissect underlying dynamics.

Main Results:

• EECs in γ-jets are enhanced at large angles by medium response (elastic scatterings), not gluon radiation.
• EECs are suppressed at small angles due to parton energy loss and momentum broadening.
• Modifications to EECs are sensitive to the Debye screening mass, characterizing in-medium interactions.

Conclusions:

• EECs provide a sensitive probe of QGP dynamics and its short-distance structure.
• Experimental measurements of EEC modifications can constrain the Debye screening mass.
• This work establishes a new tool for studying the QGP in heavy-ion collisions.