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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

The Early History of the Quark-Gluon Plasma

We present the historical antecedents to the field of relativistic heavy ion physics, beginning with early attempts to model the strong interaction and ending with the endorsement of a relativistic heavy ion collider in the 1983 U.S. Long-Range Plan for Nuclear Science. Particular attention is paid to two major themes: 1) A program to study high density states of nuclear matter emerging from the 1974 Bear Mountain conference and 2) Efforts to understand the predictions of QCD for matter at high densities and/or temperatures.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1985

Heavy flavours production in quark-gluon plasma formed in high energy nuclear reactions

Results on compression and temperatures of nuclear fireballs and on relative yield of strange and charmed hadrons are given . The results show that temperatures above 300 MeV and large compressions are unlikely achieved in average heavy ion collision. In consequence, thermal production of charm is low. Strange particle production is, however, substantial and indicates clear temperature - threshold behavior.

Kloskinski, J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Constraining color-charge effects of partonic energy loss with jet-axis-based inclusive jet substructure measurement

This study investigates the color-charge dependence of parton energy loss in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) medium and the associated relative modifications of quark and gluon jet fractions compared to vacuum, using jet axis decorrelation observables. Recent CMS jet axis decorrelation measurements in PbPb collisions at 5.02 TeV are interpreted using Pythia simulations with varied quark/gluon jet compositions and emulated color-charge dependent energy loss. A template-fit procedure is employed to estimate the limits on gluon jet fractions in the published CMS data and average shift in jet momentum due to quenching for quark- and gluon-initiated jets traversing the QGP. The extracted gluon jet fractions and the estimated quark and gluon energy losses based on this study of jet axis decorrelations are found to be consistent with other model calculations based on inclusive observables. This work illustrates the use of jet substructure measurements for providing constraints on the color-charge dependence of parton energy loss and offers valuable insights for jet quenching models.

jet quenching↗
DOE OSTI2025

Elastic dijet production in electron scattering on a longitudinally polarized proton at small x : A portal to orbital angular momentum distributions

We calculate the elastic production of dijets from electron collisions with a longitudinally polarized proton target at small values of the Bjorken x variable. Building on the pioneering proposals of Hatta [Gluon orbital angular momentum at small- x , .] and Bhattacharya [Signature of the gluon orbital angular momentum, ., Probing the quark orbital angular momentum at electron-ion colliders using exclusive π 0 production, ., and Exploring orbital angular momentum and spin-orbit correlation for gluons at the Electron-Ion Collider, .] for measuring the quark and gluon orbital angular momentum (OAM) distributions, our focus is on both the longitudinal double spin asymmetry (DSA) and longitudinal single spin asymmetry (SSA). We compute the numerators of these asymmetries in the small- x formalism of the light-cone operator treatment. Utilizing the small- x expressions for the OAM distributions derived earlier in Kovchegov and Manley [Orbital angular momentum at small x revisited, .], we demonstrate that the DSA provides a robust probe for both the quark and gluon OAM distributions within the proton. In contrast, we find that while the SSA is also sensitive to the OAM distributions, extraction of the latter from the SSA would require new developments in small- x theory and phenomenology, and is probably not feasible at this point in time. These findings highlight the potential of DSA measurements in elastic dijet production at the future Electron-Ion Collider to provide the first-ever direct access to the quark and gluon OAM distributions at small x , paving the way for new insights into the proton spin puzzle. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Kovchegov, Yuri V. (ORCID:0000000169909173)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Gluonic Structure from Instantons

The instanton vacuum provides an effective description of chiral symmetry breaking by local topological fluctuations of the gauge fields, as observed in lattice QCD simulations. The resulting effective dynamics at momenta below 1/$\bar{ρ}$ ≈ 0.6 GeV explains the basic features of light-quark correlation functions and is used extensively in studies of hadron structure. The instanton fields also make definite contributions to the gluonic structure of light hadrons, as expressed in the matrix elements of composite quark– gluon or gluon operators. The article reviews the gluonic structure of light hadrons (nucleon, pion) induced by instantons. This includes: (i) twist-2 parton distributions and momentum sum rule; (ii) twist-3 angular momentum and spin-orbit interactions; (iii) twist-3 and twist-4 quark–gluon correlations and power corrections; (iv) trace anomaly and hadron mass decomposition; (v) scalar gluon form factors and mechanical properties; (vi) axial anomaly and pseudoscalar gluon form factors. It also discusses possible further applications of the methods and recent developments including gauge field configurations beyond instantons.

Weiss, C. [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator F↗
DOE OSTI2024

On gauge amplitudes first appearing at two loops

We study scattering amplitudes in massless non-abelian gauge theory where all outgoing gluons have positive helicity. It has been argued recently by Costello that for a particular fermion representation (8 fundamentals plus one antisymmetric-tensor representation in SU(N)) the one-loop amplitudes vanish identically. We show that this vanishing leads to previously-observed identities among one-loop color-ordered partial amplitudes. We then turn to two loops, where Costello has computed the all-plus amplitudes for this theory, as rational functions of the kinematics for any number of gluons using the celestial chiral algebra (CCA) bootstrap. We show that in dimensional regularization, these two-loop amplitudes are not rational, and they are not even finite as ϵ → 0. However, the finite remainder for four gluons agrees with the formula by Costello. In addition, we provide a mass regulator for the infrared-divergent loop integrals; with this regulator, the CCA bootstrap formula is recovered exactly. Finally, we use the CCA bootstrap to compute the double-trace terms in the theory at two loops for an arbitrary number of gluons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Breakdown of collinear factorization in the exclusive photoproduction of a π 0 γ pair with large invariant mass

We study the exclusive photoproduction of a π 0 γ pair with large invariant mass M γ π 2 , which is sensitive to the exchange of either two quarks or two gluons in the t channel. In this paper, we show that the process involving two-gluon exchanges does factorize in the Bjorken limit at the leading twist. This can be explicitly demonstrated by the fact that there exist diagrams, which contribute at the leading twist, for which are , due to the pinching of the contour integration of the plus and minus component of the Glauber gluon momentum. For the same reason, π 0 -nucleon scattering to two photons also suffers from the same issue. On the other hand, we stress that there are no issues with respect to collinear factorization for the quark channels. By considering an analysis of all potential reduced diagrams of leading pinch-singular surfaces, we argue that the quark channel is safe from Glauber pinches, and therefore, a collinear factorization in that case follows through without any problems. This means that processes where gluon exchanges are forbidden, such as the exclusive photoproduction of π ± γ and ρ 0 , ± γ , are unaffected by the factorization breaking effects we point out in this paper. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Efficient quantum simulation of QCD jets on the light front

Quark and gluon jets provide one of the best ways to probe the matter produced in ultrarelativistic high-energy collisions, from cold nuclear matter to hot quark-gluon plasma. In this work, we propose a unified framework for efficient quantum simulation of many-body dynamics using the ( 3 + 1 )-dimensional QCD Hamiltonian on the light front, particularly suited for studying the scattering of quark and gluon jets on nuclear matter in heavy-ion collisions. We describe scalable methods for mapping physical degrees of freedom onto qubits and for simulating in-medium jet evolution. We then validate our framework by implementing an algorithm that directly maps second-quantized Fock states onto qubits and uses Trotterized simulation for simulating time dynamics. Using a classical emulator, we investigate the evolution of quark and gluon jets with up to three particles in Fock states, extending prior studies. These calculations enable the study of key observables, including jet momentum broadening, particle production, and parton distribution functions. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Qian, Wenyang (ORCID:0000000155250996)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for baryon junctions in photonuclear processes and isobar collisions at RHIC

During the early development of quantum chromodynamics, it was proposed that baryon number could be carried by a non-perturbative Y-shaped topology of gluon fields, called the gluon junction, rather than by the valence quarks as in the QCD standard model. A puzzling feature of ultra-relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions is the apparent substantial baryon excess in the mid-rapidity region that could not be adequately accounted for in most conventional models of quark and diquark transport. The transport of baryonic gluon junctions is predicted to lead to a characteristic exponential distribution of net-baryon density with rapidity and could resolve the puzzle. In this context we point out that the rapidity density of net-baryons near mid-rapidity indeed follows an exponential distribution with a slope of –0.61 ± 0.03 as a function of beam rapidity in the existing global data from A+A collisions at AGS, SPS and RHIC energies. To further test if quarks or gluon junctions carry the baryon quantum number, we propose to study the absolute magnitude of the baryon vs. charge stopping in isobar collisions at RHIC. We also argue that semi-inclusive photon-induced processes (γ + p/A) at RHIC kinematics provide an opportunity to search for the signatures of the baryon junction and to shed light onto the mechanisms of observed baryon excess in the mid-rapidity region in ultra-relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions. Such measurements can be further validated in A+A collisions at the LHC and e + p/A collisions at the EIC.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Characterizing the hadronization of parton showers using the HOMER method

We update the HOMER method, a technique to solve a restricted version of the inverse problem of hadronization – extracting the Lund string fragmentation function f(z) from data using only observable information. Here, we demonstrate its utility by extracting f(z) from synthetic Pythia simulations using high-level observables constructed on an event-by-event basis, such as multiplicities and shape variables. Four cases of increasing complexity are considered, corresponding to e + e − collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 90 ≥ v producing either a string stretched between a $q$ and $\bar{q}$ containing no gluons; the same string containing one gluon g with fixed kinematics; the same but the gluon has varying kinematics; and the most realistic case, strings with an unrestricted number of gluons that is the end-result of a parton shower. We demonstrate the extraction of f(z) in each case, with the result of only a relatively modest degradation in performance of the HOMER method with the increased complexity of the string system.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Threshold charmonium photoproduction with GlueX

We report the total and differential cross sections for J/ψ photoproduction obtained using the large acceptance GlueX spectrometer at the 12 GeV JLab accelerator over the full near-threshold kinematic region. The GlueX experiment uses tagged linearly-polarized photon beam from coherent Bremsstrahlung off a thin diamond. Charmonium photoproduction near threshold, under certain assumptions including gluon exchange and factorization, can be used to study important aspects of the gluon structure of the proton, such as the gluon GPD, the gravitational form factors, the mass radius of the proton, and the anomalous contribution to the proton mass. In the measured cross sections we find evidence for possible contributions beyond gluon exchange. The results are compared to a wide range of theoretical predictions including GPD calculations and models with open-charm intermediate states. Photoproduction near threshold of charmonium states with opposite-to-photon parity offer another opportunity, complementary to the J/ψ, to understand the reaction mechanism of the charmonium photoproduction. While we see some evidence for such states, comprehensive studies of such higher-mass charmonia can be done only with the proposed JLab energy upgrade. An electron beam energy of up to 22 GeV significantly increases the photon flux and polarization in the corresponding threshold regions allowing for precise cross section and polarization measurements there.

Pentchev, Lubomir↗
NASA NTRS1995

Boson mapping techniques applied to constant gauge fields in QCD

Pairs of coordinates and derivatives of the constant gluon modes are mapped to new gluon-pair fields and their derivatives. Applying this mapping to the Hamiltonian of constant gluon fields results for large coupling constants into an effective Hamiltonian which separates into one describing a scalar field and another one for a field with spin two. The ground state is dominated by pairs of gluons coupled to color and spin zero with slight admixtures of color zero and spin two pairs. As color group we used SU(2).

Hess, Peter Otto↗
DOE OSTI2024

On gauge amplitudes first appearing at two loops

We study scattering amplitudes in massless non-abelian gauge theory where all outgoing gluons have positive helicity. It has been argued recently by Costello that for a particular fermion representation (8 fundamentals plus one antisymmetric-tensor representation in SU(N)) the one-loop amplitudes vanish identically. We show that this vanishing leads to previously-observed identities among one-loop color-ordered partial amplitudes. We then turn to two loops, where Costello has computed the all-plus amplitudes for this theory, as rational functions of the kinematics for any number of gluons using the celestial chiral algebra (CCA) bootstrap. We show that in dimensional regularization, these two-loop amplitudes are not rational, and they are not even finite as ϵ → 0. However, the finite remainder for four gluons agrees with the formula by Costello. In addition, we provide a mass regulator for the infrared-divergent loop integrals; with this regulator, the CCA bootstrap formula is recovered exactly. Finally, we use the CCA bootstrap to compute the double-trace terms in the theory at two loops for an arbitrary number of gluons.

Dixon, Lance J↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measurement of J/psi Production near Threshold in J/psi -> µ+µ-

This dissertation presents a detailed analysis of J/psi photoproduction near the kinematic threshold in the J/psi -> µ+µ- decay channel, based on data collected by the GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab. The study aims to probe the structure of the proton and the underlying mechanisms of heavy vector quarkonium photoproduction, contributing to a deeper understanding of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) in the non-perturbative regime. The measurement focuses on the total and differential cross-sections of J/psi photoproduction and explores various theoretical models, including two-gluon and three-gluon exchange, open-charm contributions, and potential exotic states like pentaquarks. The experimental setup, featuring a high-precision tagged photon beam and advanced particle identification techniques, allowed for the separation of J/psi events from background processes. The analysis of the J/psi -> µ+µ- channel yields cross-sections that complement previous measurements in the J/psi -> e+e- decay mode, providing new insights into gluon dynamics at low momentum transfer. This work also examines the systematic uncertainties and provides a comprehensive comparison of results with theoretical predictions, highlighting the role of gluon exchange mechanisms in the photoproduction process. The results presented in this dissertation help refine our understanding of proton structure and QCD dynamics, offering a robust dataset for future theoretical and experimental studies in hadronic physics.

Ebersole, Donavan [Florida State Univ., Tallahasse↗
DOE OSTI2025

Spatial String Tension and Its Effects on Screening Correlators in a Thermal QCD Plasma

We calculate the spatial Wilson line correlator for 2 +1 flavor QCD using highly improved staggered quark discretization for fermions and in quenched QCD for a wide range of temperatures, from the chiral crossover temperature 𝑇 pc ≃ 156 MeV or the deconfinement temperature ≃300 MeV, respectively, up to 2 GeV. Extracting the spatial string tension for different lattice cutoffs and by performing a continuum extrapolation of this observable, we show that the soft (magnetic) gluons interact nonperturbatively even at temperatures ≳1 GeV. We provide incriminating evidences to demonstrate that dimensionally reduced effective theories can describe these soft quark and gluon quasi-particles for both quenched and 2 +1 flavor QCD, at temperatures 𝑇 ≳ 5⁢𝑇 pc . We also show for the first time the imprints of the nonperturbative pseudopotential in the properties of mesonic screening masses for temperatures ranging from 0.8 to 164 GeV in the quark-gluon plasma.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Bottomonium suppression in 5.02 and 8.16 TeV 𝑝-Pb collisions

Here, we compute the suppression of ϒ⁡(1⁢𝑆), ϒ⁡(2⁢𝑆), and ϒ⁡(3⁢𝑆) states in 𝑝-Pb collisions relative to 𝑝⁢𝑝 collisions, including nuclear parton distribution function (nPDF) effects, coherent energy loss, momentum broadening, and final-state interactions in the quark-gluon plasma. We employ the EPPS21 nPDFs and calculate the uncertainty resulting from variation over the associated error sets. To compute coherent energy loss and momentum broadening, we follow the approach of Arleo, Peigne, and collaborators. The 3+1⁢D viscous hydrodynamical background evolution of the quark-gluon plasma is generated by anisotropic hydrodynamics. The in-medium suppression of bottomonium in the quark-gluon plasma is computed using a next-to-leading-order open quantum system framework formulated within potential nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics. We find that inclusion of all these effects provides a reasonable description of experimental data from the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb Collaborations for the suppression of ϒ⁡(1⁢𝑆), ϒ⁡(2⁢𝑆), and ϒ⁡(3⁢𝑆) as a function of both transverse momentum and rapidity.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗