Early-Time Dynamics of Heavy-Ion Collisions through Energy Correlators: celestial blocks and the spacetime structure of out-of-equilibrium QCD matter

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Autori principali: Barata, João, Milhano, José Guilherme, Sadofyev, Andrey V., Silva, João M.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Barata, João
Milhano, José Guilherme
Sadofyev, Andrey V.
Silva, João M.
author_facet Barata, João
Milhano, José Guilherme
Sadofyev, Andrey V.
Silva, João M.
contents Ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions provide a unique window into far-from-equilibrium states of QCD matter. The initial stages of these events are characterized by highly anisotropic, nonthermal dynamics that precede hydrodynamization, yet they remain largely inaccessible through conventional soft observables. In this work, we show that the substructure of mid-rapidity jets provides direct sensitivity to the spacetime structure of this early, anisotropic phase. Using classical Yang-Mills simulations and effective kinetic theory to model the early-time evolution of the jet quenching parameter, we compute the azimuthally differential energy-energy correlator within the BDMPS-Z framework. By decomposing the result into celestial blocks, we isolate the coefficients that encode the anisotropic geometry and dynamics of the underlying medium. We identify an observable that couples directly to spatial anisotropies in the out-of-equilibrium QCD matter and also discuss the impact of medium response on its behavior. We further extend our study to mid-rapidity jets generated with the JEWEL Monte-Carlo, adjusted to incorporate an anisotropic medium background, and find qualitative agreement with the analytical expectations. Finally, we discuss how higher-point energy correlators and generalized energy-flow operators can enhance the sensitivity to the microscopic structure of far-from-equilibrium QCD matter.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_17009
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Early-Time Dynamics of Heavy-Ion Collisions through Energy Correlators: celestial blocks and the spacetime structure of out-of-equilibrium QCD matter
Barata, João
Milhano, José Guilherme
Sadofyev, Andrey V.
Silva, João M.
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Nuclear Theory
Ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions provide a unique window into far-from-equilibrium states of QCD matter. The initial stages of these events are characterized by highly anisotropic, nonthermal dynamics that precede hydrodynamization, yet they remain largely inaccessible through conventional soft observables. In this work, we show that the substructure of mid-rapidity jets provides direct sensitivity to the spacetime structure of this early, anisotropic phase. Using classical Yang-Mills simulations and effective kinetic theory to model the early-time evolution of the jet quenching parameter, we compute the azimuthally differential energy-energy correlator within the BDMPS-Z framework. By decomposing the result into celestial blocks, we isolate the coefficients that encode the anisotropic geometry and dynamics of the underlying medium. We identify an observable that couples directly to spatial anisotropies in the out-of-equilibrium QCD matter and also discuss the impact of medium response on its behavior. We further extend our study to mid-rapidity jets generated with the JEWEL Monte-Carlo, adjusted to incorporate an anisotropic medium background, and find qualitative agreement with the analytical expectations. Finally, we discuss how higher-point energy correlators and generalized energy-flow operators can enhance the sensitivity to the microscopic structure of far-from-equilibrium QCD matter.
title Early-Time Dynamics of Heavy-Ion Collisions through Energy Correlators: celestial blocks and the spacetime structure of out-of-equilibrium QCD matter
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.17009