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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Quarkonium Polarization Kinetic Equation from Open Quantum Systems and Effective Field Theories

Recent measurements of polarization phenomena in relativistic heavy ion collisions have aroused a great interest in understanding dynamical spin evolution of the QCD matter. In particular, the spin alignment signature of J/ψ has been recently observed in Pb-Pb collisions at LHC, which may infer nontrivial spin transport of quarkonia in quark gluon plasmas. Motivated by this, we study the spin-dependent in-medium dynamics of quarkonia by using the potential nonrelativistic QCD (pNRQCD) and the open quantum system framework. By applying the Markovian approximation and Wigner transformation, we systematically derive the Boltzmann transport equation for vector quarkonia with polarization dependence in the quantum optical limit. As opposed to the previous study for the spin-independent case where the collision terms depend on chromoelectric correlators, the new kinetic equation incorporates gauge invariant correlators of chromomagnetic fields that determine the recombination and dissociation terms with polarization dependence at the order we are working in the multipole expansion. In the quantum Brownian motion limit, the Lindblad equation with new transport coefficients defined in terms of the chromomagnetic field correlators have also been derived. Our formalism is generic and valid for both weakly-coupled and strongly-coupled quark gluon plasmas. It may be further applied to study spin alignment of vector quarkonia in heavy ion collisions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Observable signatures of initial state momentum anisotropies in nuclear collisions

In this work, we show that the correlation between the elliptic momentum anisotropy v 2 and the average transverse momentum [ p T ] at fixed multiplicity in small system nuclear collisions carries information on the origin of the observed momentum anisotropy. A calculation using a hybrid IP-Glasma+ music +UrQMD model that includes contributions from final state response to the initial geometry as well as initial state momentum anisotropies of the color glass condensate predicts a characteristic sign change of the correlator ρ ^ ( v 2 2 , [ p T ] ) as a function of charged particle multiplicity in p + Au and d + Au collisions at s = 200 GeV , and p + Pb collisions at s = 5.02 TeV . This sign change is absent in calculations without initial state momentum anisotropies. The model further predicts a qualitative difference between the centrality dependence of ρ ^ ( v 2 2 , [ p T ] ) in Au + Au collisions at s = 200 GeV and Pb + Pb collisions at s = 5.02 TeV , with only the latter showing a sign change in peripheral events. Predictions for O + O collisions at different collision energy show a similar behavior. Experimental observation of these distinct qualitative features of ρ ^ ( v 2 2 , [ p T ] ) in small and large systems would constitute strong evidence for the presence and importance of initial state momentum anisotropies predicted by the color glass condensate effective theory.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Local spin polarizations in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Here, based on a generalized side-jump formalism for massless chiral fermions, which naturally takes into account the spin-orbit coupling in the scattering of two chiral fermions and the chiral vortical effect in a rotating chiral fermion matter, we have developed a covariant and total-angular-momentum-conserved chiral transport model to study both the global and local polarizations of this matter. For a system of massless quarks of random spin orientations and finite vorticity in a box, we have demonstrated that the model can exactly conserve the total angular momentum of the system and dynamically generate the quark spin polarization expected from a thermally equilibrated quark matter. Using this model to study the spin polarization in relativistic heavy-ion collision, we have found that the local quark spin polarizations depend strongly on the reference frame where they are evaluated as a result of the nontrivial axial charge distribution caused by the chiral vortical effect. We have further shown that because of the anomalous orbital or side-jump contribution to the quark spin polarization, the local quark polarizations calculated in the medium rest frame are qualitatively consistent with the local polarizations of Lambda hyperons measured in experiments.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Direct observation of the dead-cone effect in quantum chromodynamics

In particle collider experiments, elementary particle interactions with large momentum transfer produce quarks and gluons (known as partons) whose evolution is governed by the strong force, as described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). These partons subsequently emit further partons in a process that can be described as a parton shower, which culminates in the formation of detectable hadrons. Studying the pattern of the parton shower is one of the key experimental tools for testing QCD. This pattern is expected to depend on the mass of the initiating parton, through a phenomenon known as the dead-cone effect, which predicts a suppression of the gluon spectrum emitted by a heavy quark of mass m Q and energy E, within a cone of angular size m Q /E around the emitter. Previously, a direct observation of the dead-cone effect in QCD had not been possible, owing to the challenge of reconstructing the cascading quarks and gluons from the experimentally accessible hadrons. We report the direct observation of the QCD dead cone by using new iterative declustering techniques to reconstruct the parton shower of charm quarks. This result confirms a fundamental feature of QCD. Furthermore, the measurement of a dead-cone angle constitutes a direct experimental observation of the non-zero mass of the charm quark, which is a fundamental constant in the standard model of particle physics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Radiative corrections for factorized jet observables in heavy ion collisions

I look at the renormalization of the medium structure function and a medium induced jet function in a factorized cross section for jet substructure observables in Heavy Ion collisions. This is based on the formalism developed in [1], which uses an Open quantum system approach combined with the Effective Field Theory (EFT) for forward scattering to derive a factorization formula for jet observables which work as hard probes of a long lived dilute Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) medium. I show that the universal medium structure function that captures the observable independent physics of the QGP has both rapidity and UV anomalous dimensions that appear due to medium induced Bremsstrahlung. The resulting Renormalization Group (RG) equations correspond to the BFKL equation and the running of the QCD coupling respectively. I present the first results for the numerical impact of resummation using these RG equations on the mean free path of the jet in the medium. I also briefly discuss the prospects of extending this formalism for a short lived dense medium.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Baryon-baryon, meson-meson, and meson-baryon interactions in nonrelativistic QCD

Van der Waals potentials describing interactions between color-singlet mesons and/or baryons vanish at leading order in potential nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics (pNRQCD). This result and constraints from Gauss’s law are used to prove that weakly coupled pNRQCD van der Waals potentials in generic non-Abelian gauge theories with only heavy quarks are too weak to form bound states whose color state is a product of color singlets. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of four, five, and six quarks with equal masses provide numerical evidence that exotic color configurations are higher energy than products of color-singlet hadrons, suggesting that equal-mass fully heavy tetraquark, pentaquark, and hexaquark bound states do not exist at next-to-leading order in pNRQCD and at all orders in QCD-like theories in which all quark masses are asymptotically large. Mechanisms for generating hadron-hadron bound states are identified, which necessarily involve large quark-mass hierarchies, relativistic effects arising from the presence of sufficiently light quarks, or nonperturbative effects outside the scope of weakly coupled pNRQCD.

Effective field theory↗
DOE OSTI2026

SMEFT ATLAS: The landscape beyond the Standard Model

The Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) based on the unbroken gauge group SU(3) 𝐶 ⊗SU(2) 𝐿 ⊗U(1) 𝑌 and containing only particles of the Standard Model (SM) has developed in the last decade to a mature field. It is the framework to be used in the energy gap from scales sufficiently higher than the electroweak scale up to the lowest energy scale at which new particles show up. We summarize the present status of this theory with a particular emphasize on its role in the indirect search for new physics (NP). While flavour physics of both quarks and leptons is the main topic of our review, we also discuss electric dipole moments, anomalous magnetic moments (𝑔−2) 𝜇,𝑒 , 𝑍-pole observables, Higgs observables and high-𝑝𝑇 scattering processes within the SMEFT. We group the observables into ten classes and list for each class the most relevant operators and the corresponding renormalization group equations (RGEs). We exhibit the correlations between different classes implied both by the operator mixing and the SU(2) 𝐿 gauge symmetry. Our main goal is to provide an insight into the complicated operator structure of this framework which hopefully will facilitate the identification of valid ultraviolet completions behind possible anomalies observed in future data. Numerous colourful charts, and 85 tables, while representing rather complicated RG evolution from the NP scale down to the electroweak scale, beautify the involved SMEFT landscape. Over 1000 references to the literature underline the importance and the popularity of this field. We discuss both top-down and bottom-up approaches as well as their interplay. This allows us eventually to present an atlas of different landscapes beyond the SM that includes heavy gauge bosons and scalars, vector-like quarks and leptons and leptoquarks.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Z α 2 correction to superallowed beta decays in effective field theory and implications for | V u d |

Superallowed ( 0 + → 0 + ) beta decays currently provide the most precise extraction of quark mixing in the Standard Model. Their interpretation as a measurement of | V u d | relies on a reliable first-principles computation of QED radiative corrections expressed as a series in Z α and α . In this work, we provide the first model-independent result for two-loop, O ( Z α 2 ) , long-distance radiative corrections where the nuclei are treated as heavy pointlike particles. We use renormalization group analysis to obtain new results at O ( Z α 3 ) for the coefficient of double logarithms in the ratio of the maximal beta energy to the inverse nuclear size, E m / R - 1 . We use the Kinoshita-Lee-Nauenberg theorem to obtain new results at O ( Z 2 α 3 ) for the coefficient of logarithms in the ratio of maximal beta energy to the electron mass, log ( 2 E m / m ) . We identify a structure-dependent, and, therefore, short-distance, contribution to the traditional Z α 2 correction that should be revisited. We provide the first comprehensive update to the long-distance corrections in almost 40 years and comment on the impact of our findings for extractions of | V u d | . We find that shifts in the long-distance corrections are 2.5 × larger than past estimates of their uncertainty, 1.5 × larger than the statistical uncertainty from the combined fit of superallowed decays, and about 1 / 2 the size of estimated systematic error, which stems dominantly from nuclear structure effects.

Cao, Zehua [Kentucky U.] (ORCID:0009000354256423)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Spin polarization and correlation of quarks from the glasma

We investigate the interaction of strong color fields in the glasma stage of high-energy nuclear collisions with the spins of quarks and antiquarks. We employ the perturbative solution of the quantum kinetic theory for the spin transport of (massive) quarks in a background color field governed by the linearized Yang-Mills equation and derive expressions for the quark-spin polarization and quark-antiquark spin correlation at small momentum in terms of field correlators. For the Golec-Biernat–Wusthoff dipole distribution the quark-spin polarization vanishes, but the out-of-plane spin correlation of quarks and antiquarks is nonzero. Our order-of-magnitude estimate of the correlation far exceeds that caused by vorticity effects, but does not fully explain the data for vector meson alignment. We identify possible mechanisms that could further increase the predicted spin correlation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Tensor supercurrent in QCD

An external Abelian magnetic field excites in the QCD vacuum a tensor super current that represents the tensor polarization of the chiral condensate. This tensor supercurrent can be deduced from the chiral lagrangian in the presence of anoma lies; a similar tensor supercurrent emerges in rotating systems at finite chemical potential. We discuss the microscopic origin of this supercurrent and argue that it screens the instanton-anti-instanton $I\overline I$ molecules in the QCD vacuum, similarly to the vector supercurrent screening Abrikosov vortices in a superconductor. A number of possible experimental manifestations of the tensor supercurrent are discussed: i) spin alignment of axial-vector and vector mesons in heavy ion collisions; ii) tensor charge of the nucleon; iii) transversity of quark distributions in polarized nucleons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Factorization for jet production in heavy-ion collisions

We develop an Effective Field Theory approach for jet observables in heavy-ion collisions, where the jet is treated as an open quantum system interacting with a hot and dense QCD medium. Within this framework, we derive a novel factorization formula for inclusive jet production, expressed as a series expansion with an increasing number of radiating subjet functions that encode forward scattering with the Quark-Gluon Plasma, convolved with perturbative matching coefficients. This work provides a systematic framework for computing jet observables at higher order and understanding their non-perturbative aspects, paving the way for future applications in heavy-ion phenomenology.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Pushing the Boundaries of Relativistic Fluid Dynamics: From Particle Colliders to Neutron Star Mergers

This project aimed at establishing connections between fluid dynamics, kinetic theory, and string theory to develop new tools to characterize the far-from-equilibrium properties of relativistic systems, which are instrumental in understanding the emergence of liquid-like behavior of the quark-gluon plasma formed in heavy-ion collisions. This project investigated the fundamental properties of viscous fluids in the full nonlinear regime to pave the way for the systematic inclusion of viscous effects in future numerical simulations of neutron star mergers.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Large N-ightmare dark matter

A dark QCD sector is a relatively minimal extension of the Standard Model (SM) that admits Dark Matter (DM) candidates, but requires no portal to the visible sector beyond gravitational interactions: a "nightmare scenario" for DM detection. Here, we consider a secluded dark sector containing a single flavor of light, vector-like dark quark gauged under (N). In the large-N limit, this single-flavor theory becomes highly predictive, generating two DM candidates whose masses and dynamics are described by few parameters: a light quark-antiquark bound state, the dark analog of the η' meson, and a heavy bound state of N quarks, the dark analog of the Δ ++ baryon. We show that the latter may freeze-in with an abundance independent of the confinement scale, forming DM-like relics for N ≲ 10, while the former may generate DM via cannibalization and freeze-out. We study the interplay of this two-component DM system, and determine the characteristic ranges of the confinement scale, dark-visible sector temperature ratio, and N that admit non-excluded DM, once effects of self-interaction constraints and bounds on effective degrees of freedom at the BBN and CMB epochs are included.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Bottomonium suppression in pNRQCD and open quantum system approach

By employing the potential non-relativistic quantum chromodynamics (pNRQCD) effective field theory within an open quantum system framework, we derive a Lindblad equation governing the evolution of the heavy-quarkonium reduced density matrix, accurate to next-to-leading order (NLO) in the ratio of the state's binding energy to the medium's temperature [1]. The derived NLO Lindblad equation provides a more reliable description of heavy-quarkonium evolution in the quark-gluon plasma at low temperatures compared to the leading-order truncation. For phenomenological applications, we numerically solve this equation using the quantum trajectories algorithm. By averaging over Monte Carlo-sampled quantum jumps, we obtain solutions without truncation in the angular momentum quantum number of the considered states. Our analysis highlights the importance of quantum jumps in the nonequilibrium evolution of bottomonium states within the quark-gluon plasma [2]. Additionally, we demonstrate that the quantum regeneration of singlet states from octet configurations is essential to explain experimental observations of bottomonium suppression. The heavy-quarkonium transport coefficients used in our study align with recent lattice QCD determinations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Multi-messenger heavy-ion collision physics

We report that this work studies the production of direct photons in relativistic nuclear collisions, along with the production of hadrons. Radiation from the very first instants to the final moments of the evolution is included. The hybrid model used here describes all stages of relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Chronologically, those are an initial state reflecting the collision of nuclei described within the Color Glass Condensate effective theory; a pre-equilibrium phase based on non-equilibrium linear response; relativistic viscous hydrodynamics, and a hadronic afterburner. The effect of the preequilibrium phase on both photonic and hadronic observables is highlighted for the first time. The potential of photon observables - spectrum, differential elliptic and triangular flow - to reveal the chemical equilibration time is studied. Finally, we consider "small collision systems", including proton+nucleus collisions and collisions of light nuclei, as probed by hadronic and electromagnetic observables. We demonstrate how photon production can signal the formation of quark-gluon plasma in such small systems.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nambu and Compositeness

The Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model is the simplest field theory of a composite scalar boson, consisting of a pair of chiral fermions. A bound state emerges from an assumed point-like 4-fermion interaction and is described by local effective field, $\Phi(x)$. We review this in the context of the renormalization group and show some its phenomenological successes, such as the QCD chiral dynamics and the prediction of stable heavy-light resonances that reveal the single light quark chiral dynamics. We also review some NJL--inspired composite Higgs models. We then describe a novel UV completion of the NJL model, to an extended interaction, where the solution is described by a bilocal effective, Yukawa field, $\Phi(x,y)$. I conclude with a personal recollection of Yoichiro Nambu.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Jet quenching and medium response in high-energy heavy-ion collisions: a review

Jet quenching has been used successfully as a hard probe to study properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in high-energy heavy-ion collisions at both the relativistic heavy-ion collider and the large hadron collider. Furthermore, we will review recent progresses in theoretical and phenomenological studies of jet quenching with jet transport models. Special emphasis is given to effects of jet-induced medium response on a wide variety of experimental observables and their implications on extracting transport properties of the QGP in heavy-ion collisions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗