A Method to Constrain Preferential Emission and Spectator Dynamics in Heavy-Ion Collisions

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Main Authors: Bairathi, Vipul, Bhatta, Somadutta
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Bairathi, Vipul
Bhatta, Somadutta
author_facet Bairathi, Vipul
Bhatta, Somadutta
contents Longitudinal particle production in heavy-ion collisions is influenced both by preferential emission from participating nucleons and by the breakup of spectator matter, yet quantifying these effects experimentally remains challenging. We introduce a Pearson correlation between spectator and charged-particle forward-backward asymmetries as an experimental probe of these phenomena. Using Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV simulated with A Multi-Phase Transport (AMPT) model, we validate that this correlator provides a robust, pseudorapidity-differential measure of the influence of preferential emission on the longitudinal structure of particle production. We further demonstrate that the correlation strength is sensitive to fluctuations in spectator number, which in experiments arise from evaporation and fragmentation of the spectator remnants. The proposed observable therefore offers a data-driven handle for constraining models of preferential emission and spectator breakup, thereby improving our understanding of the mechanisms that shape the final-state longitudinal distributions in heavy-ion collisions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_06977
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Method to Constrain Preferential Emission and Spectator Dynamics in Heavy-Ion Collisions
Bairathi, Vipul
Bhatta, Somadutta
Nuclear Theory
High Energy Physics - Experiment
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Nuclear Experiment
Longitudinal particle production in heavy-ion collisions is influenced both by preferential emission from participating nucleons and by the breakup of spectator matter, yet quantifying these effects experimentally remains challenging. We introduce a Pearson correlation between spectator and charged-particle forward-backward asymmetries as an experimental probe of these phenomena. Using Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV simulated with A Multi-Phase Transport (AMPT) model, we validate that this correlator provides a robust, pseudorapidity-differential measure of the influence of preferential emission on the longitudinal structure of particle production. We further demonstrate that the correlation strength is sensitive to fluctuations in spectator number, which in experiments arise from evaporation and fragmentation of the spectator remnants. The proposed observable therefore offers a data-driven handle for constraining models of preferential emission and spectator breakup, thereby improving our understanding of the mechanisms that shape the final-state longitudinal distributions in heavy-ion collisions.
title A Method to Constrain Preferential Emission and Spectator Dynamics in Heavy-Ion Collisions
topic Nuclear Theory
High Energy Physics - Experiment
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Nuclear Experiment
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.06977