D-Meson Production via Sequential Hadronization in High-Energy Nuclear Collisions

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• High Energy Physics
• Quantum Chromodynamics

Background:

• Heavy flavor production is key to understanding quark-gluon plasma (QGP) hadronization.
• Relativistic heavy-ion collisions create the QGP, a state of matter studied via particle production.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate charm quark hadronization mechanisms within the QGP.
• Utilize a combined Langevin transport and sequential coalescence model.

Main Methods:

• Employed Langevin transport simulations for medium interactions.
• Integrated a sequential coalescence model for hadron formation.
• Utilized in-medium potentials from lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

Main Results:

• Observed that D_{s} mesons form earlier than D^{0} mesons.
• Simulated D_{s} elliptic flow (v_{2}) is lower than D^{0} v_{2} in the intermediate transverse momentum (p_{T}) region.
• Results show good agreement with recent ALICE experimental data.

Conclusions:

• Sequential coalescence, charm quark number conservation, and strangeness enhancement predict a peak in the D_{s}/D^{0} yield ratio at low p_{T}.
• This predicted peak offers a testable signature for future heavy-ion collision experiments.