Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “heavy quarks”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9

Investigating charm production and fragmentation via azimuthal correlations of prompt D mesons with charged particles in pp collisions at $\mathbf {\sqrt{ s} = 13}$ TeV

Angular correlations of heavy-flavour and charged particles in high-energy proton–proton collisions are sensitive to the production mechanisms of heavy quarks and to their fragmentation as well as hadronisation processes. The measurement of the azimuthal-correlation function of prompt D mesons with charged particles in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of \(\sqrt{s} = 13\) TeV with the ALICE detector is reported, considering \(\mathrm D^{0} \) , \(\mathrm D^{+} \) , and \(\mathrm D^{*+} \) mesons in the transverse-momentum interval \(3< p_{\mathrm{T}} < 36\) GeV/ \(c\) at midrapidity ( \(|y| < 0.5\) ), and charged particles with \(p_{\mathrm{T}} > 0.3\) GeV/ \(c\) and pseudorapidity \(|\eta | < 0.8\) . This measurement has an improved precision and provides an extended transverse-momentum coverage compared to previous ALICE measurements at lower energies. The study is also performed as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity, showing no modifications of the correlation function with multiplicity within uncertainties. The properties and the transverse-momentum evolution of the near- and away-side correlation peaks are studied and compared with predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators. Among those considered, PYTHIA8 and POWHEG+PYTHIA8 provide the best description of the measured observables. The obtained results can provide guidance on tuning the generators.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Azimuthal correlations of heavy-flavor hadron decay electrons with charged particles in pp and p–Pb collisions at $\pmb {\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{{NN}}}}}$ = 5.02 TeV

The azimuthal (Δφ ) correlation distributions between heavy-flavor decay electrons and associated charged particles are measured in pp and p–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=5.02 TeV. Results are reported for electrons with transverse momentum 4 < p T < 16 GeV/c and pseudorapidity |η| <0.6. The associated charged particles are selected with transverse momentum 1< p T < 7 GeV/c, and relative pseudorapidity separation with the leading electron |Δη| <1. The correlation measurements are performed to study and characterize the fragmentation and hadronization of heavy quarks. The correlation structures are fitted with a constant and two von Mises functions to obtain the baseline and the near- and away-side peaks, respectively. The results from p–Pb collisions are compared with those from pp collisions to study the effects of cold nuclear matter. In the measured trigger electron and associated particle kinematic regions, the two collision systems give consistent results. The Δφ distribution and the peak observables in pp and p–Pb collisions are compared with calculations from various Monte Carlo event generators.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

New insights into the doubly charmed exotic mesons

Abstract Using effective Lagrangians constrained by the heavy quark spin symmetry and chiral symmetry, for the light quarks, we analyze the $$D^0 D^0\pi ^+,$$ D 0 D 0 π + , $$\bar{D}^0D^0\pi ^0$$ D ¯ 0 D 0 π 0 and $$D^0\bar{D}^{*0}$$ D 0 D ¯ ∗ 0 invariant mass spectra. Performing a simultaneous analysis of the doubly charmed and charm-anti-charm states gives further insights into the nature of the $$T^+_{cc}$$ T cc + and $$\chi ^0_{c1}(3872),$$ χ c 1 0 ( 3872 ) , exotic hadrons. It is confirmed that both states should lie below their respective $$DD^*$$ D D ∗ / $$D\bar{D}^*$$ D D ¯ ∗ thresholds. Also, the contributions of the triangle and box diagrams are negligible.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Advances for QCD and the standard model: color-confining light-front holography and the principle of maximum conformality

Here, I review how the application of superconformal quantum mechanics and light-front holography leads to new insights into the physics of color confinement, the spectroscopy and dynamics of hadrons, as well as surprising supersymmetric relations between the masses of mesons, baryons, and tetraquarks. Spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking is automatically fulfilled by supersymmetric Light-Front QCD. The light-front holographic approach (HLFQCD) also predicts the behavior of the QCD running coupling and other observables from the nonperturbative color-confining domain to the perturbative domain. One can determine the QCD running coupling to high precision from the data of just a single experiment over the entire perturbative regime by using the Principle of Maximum Conformality (PMC). The PMC, which generalizes the conventional Gell-Mann-Low method for scale-setting in perturbative QED to non-Abelian QCD, provides a rigorous method for achieving unambiguous scheme-independent, fixed-order Standard Model predictions, consistent with the principles of the renormalization group. I also briefly review a novel feature of hadronic physics predicted by QCD: intrinsic heavy quarks.

Brodsky, Stanley J. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab↗

The forward-backward asymmetry and differences of partial moments in inclusive semileptonic $B$ decays

Global fits to moments of kinematic distributions measured in inclusive semileptonic B\rightarrow X_c l \nu_l B → X c l ν l enable the determination of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element \left|V_{cb}\right| | V c b | together with non-perturbative matrix elements of the heavy quark expansion. In current fits, only two distinct kinematic distributions are employed and, as a consequence, higher moments of these distributions need to be taken into account to extract the relevant non-perturbative matrix elements. The moments of a given distribution are highly correlated and experimental uncertainties increase for higher moments. To address these issues, Turczyk suggested the inclusion of the charged lepton forward-backward asymmetry \mathcal{A}_{FB} 𝒜 F B in global fits, since it provides information on non-perturbative parameters beyond the commonly used moments. It is possible to construct differences of partial moments of kinematic distributions, which can provide additional information on the non-perturbative parameters beyond \mathcal{A}_{FB} 𝒜 F B and are studied in this work for the first time. Further, experimental cuts on the four-momentum transfer square are studied and are shown to preserve the shape of the angular distribution, in contrast to commonly used cuts on the lepton energy. Finally, the impact of final-state radiation and experimental lepton identification requirements on measurements of \mathcal{A}_{FB} 𝒜 F B and differences of partial moments are discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

sPHENIX heavy flavor jet tagging studies in p+p at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200~GeV$

Heavy-flavor jets, which are initiated from heavy quarks, are ideal probes for studying flavor dependent parton energy loss. We report on the performance of jet flavor tagging using two Neural Network Machine Learning (ML) models: the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model and an Attention-based Neural Network, in simulations of 200 GeV p + p collisions. The tagging performance of bottom quark initiated jets with both ML models surpasses that of the traditional cut-based method. Technical details, including sample and kinematic variable selections, the machine learning training and testing setup with parameter tuning, and outcome comparisons, will be discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Progress in calculation of the fourth Mellin moment of the pion light-cone distribution amplitude using the HOPE method

The pion light-cone distribution amplitude (LCDA) is a central non-perturbative object of interest for the calculation of high-energy exclusive processes in quantum chromodynamics. This article describes the progress in the lattice QCD calculation of the fourth Mellin moment of the pion LCDA using a heavy-quark operator product expansion (HOPE).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Elimination of QCD Renormalization Scale and Scheme Ambiguities

The setting of the renormalization scale (μ r ) in the perturbative QCD (pQCD) is one of the crucial problems for achieving precise fixed-order pQCD predictions. The conventional prescription is to take its value as the typical momentum transfer Q in a given process, and theoretical uncertainties are then evaluated by varying it over an arbitrary range. The conventional scale-setting procedure introduces arbitrary scheme-and-scale ambiguities in fixed-order pQCD predictions. The principle of maximum conformality (PMC) provides a systematic way to eliminate the renormalization scheme-and-scale ambiguities. The PMC method has rigorous theoretical foundations; it satisfies the renormalization group invariance (RGI) and all of the self-consistency conditions derived from the renormalization group. The PMC has now been successfully applied to many physical processes. In this paper, we summarize recent PMC applications, including event shape observables and heavy quark pair production near the threshold region in e + e – annihilation and top-quark decay at hadronic colliders. In addition, estimating the contributions related to the uncalculated higher-order terms is also summarized. These results show that the major theoretical uncertainties caused by different choices of μ r are eliminated, and the improved pQCD predictions are thus obtained, demonstrating the generality and applicability of the PMC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

2025 EIC-France Workshop: Physics Highlights and Perspectives

This document presents a synthesis of the theory contributions and discussions from the 2nd EIC-France Workshop, held at IJCLab (Orsay) on 1-3 December 2025. The workshop brought together members of the French hadron-physics community to review recent theoretical developments relevant to the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) and to coordinate national efforts in preparation for its early physics program. The report first summarizes the collider's initial running conditions and luminosity performance, as outlined in the EIC Early Science Matrix. It then provides concise overviews of the theoretical presentations on inclusive, semi-inclusive, exclusive, heavy-flavor, and small-x physics. Based on these discussions, two measurements emerged as especially well suited for early EIC operation and strongly aligned with areas of established French expertise: inclusive diffraction and inclusive quarkonium production. These channels offer clean signatures, robust theoretical interpretability, and direct sensitivity to fundamental QCD phenomena such as gluon saturation, heavy-quark dynamics, and the small-x structure of hadrons and nuclei. In addition, the workshop identified longer-term physics opportunities that will benefit from the full capabilities of the EIC after its ramp-up phase. These include accessing the three-dimensional structure of the pion through the Sullivan process and a broader program of exclusive three-body final states, both of which represent high-impact avenues for exploring hadronic structure and non-perturbative QCD. Together, the elements summarized in this report provide a coherent overview of the strategic priorities and scientific ambitions shaping the French community's contribution to the EIC physics program.

FOS: Physical sciences↗

Effective $\mathbb{Z}_{3}$ model for finite-density QCD with tensor networks

The tensor renormalization group is a promising numerical method used to study lattice statistical field theories. However, this approach is computationally expensive in 2+1 and 3+1 dimensions. Here we use tensor renormalization group methods to study an effective three-dimensional $\mathbb{Z}_{3}$ model for the heavy-quark, high-temperature, strong-coupling limit of single-flavor 3+1 dimensional quantum chromodynamics. Our results are cross-checked using the worm Monte Carlo algorithm. We present the phase diagram of the model through the measurement of the Polyakov loop, the nearest-neighbor Polyakov loop correlator, and their susceptibilities. The tensor renormalization group results are in good agreement with the literature

Bloch, Jacques↗

Lattice study of correlators of chromoelectric fields for heavy quarkonium dynamics in the quark-gluon plasma

We perform a lattice calculation of the correlators of two chromoelectric fields in the adjoint representation connected by adjoint Wilson lines at nonzero temperature. These correlators arise in the study of quarkonium dynamics and of adjoint heavy quark diffusion in deconfined matter. We work in SU(3) gauge theory using either gradient flow or multilevel algorithms for noise reduction, and discuss the renormalization of the correlators on the lattice. We find that a Casimir factor rescaling relates the adjoint correlators corresponding to the diffusion of an adjoint heavy quark and the octet-octet quarkonium transitions to the chromoelectric correlator in the fundamental representation describing the diffusion of a heavy quark.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Testing the impact of electromagnetic fields on the directed flow of constituent quarks in heavy-ion collisions

It has been proposed that strong electromagnetic fields produced in the early stages of heavy-ion collisions can lead to splitting of the rapidity-odd directed flow of positive and negative hadrons. For light hadrons, the interpretation of such measurements is complicated by the low magnitude of directed flow as well as by ambiguities arising from transported quarks. To overcome these complications, we propose measurements using only hadrons carrying produced quarks (u¯, d¯, s s¯ ). Here, we discuss how to identify the kinematics where such hadrons are produced via the coalescence mechanism and therefore their flow is the sum of the flow of their constituent quarks. With this sum rule verified for certain combinations of hadrons, the expected systematic violation of this rule with increasing electric charge can be measured, which could be a consequence of the electromagnetic fields produced in the collisions. Our approach can be tested with the high statistics data from Phase II of the Beam Energy Scan program at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Unscreened forces in the quark-gluon plasma?

We study the correlator of temporal Wilson lines at nonzero temperature in 2+1 flavor lattice QCD with the aim to define the heavy quark-antiquark potential at nonzero temperature. For temperatures 153 MeV ≤ 𝑇 ≤ 352 MeV the spectral representation of this correlator is consistent with a broadened peak in the spectral function, position, or width of which then defines the real or imaginary parts of the heavy quark-antiquark potential at nonzero temperature, respectively. We find that the potential’s real part is not screened contrary to the widely held expectations. We comment on how this fact may modify the picture of quarkonium melting in the quark-gluon plasma.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Cascade decays of heavy Higgs bosons through vectorlike quarks in two Higgs doublet models

We study cascade decays of heavy neutral Higgs bosons through vectorlike quarks. We focus on scenarios where decay modes into pairs of vectorlike quarks are not kinematically open which extends the sensitivity of the LHC to larger masses. Assuming only mixing with the third family of standard model quarks the new decay modes of heavy Higgs bosons are: H → t 4 t → Wbt, Ztt, htt and H → b 4 b → Wtb, Zbb, hbb, where t 4 (b 4 ) is the new up-type (down-type) quark mass eigenstate. In the numerical analysis we assume the CP even Higgs boson in the two Higgs doublet model type-II but the signatures are relevant for many other scenarios. We identify the region of the parameter space where these decay modes are significant or can even dominate, and thus they provide the best opportunities for the simultaneous discovery of a new Higgs boson and vectorlike quarks. We further explore the reach of the High Luminosity LHC for two representative decay modes,t 4 → Zt → ℓℓt and b 4 → Zb → ℓℓb, and found that cross sections at a 0.1 fb level can be probed with simple cut based analyses. We also find that the rates for Higgs cascade decays can be much larger than the rates for a single production of vectorlike quarks. Furthermore, the reach for vectorlike quarks in Higgs cascade decays and pair production extends to comparable masses.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Measurement of prompt D + and ${D}_s^{+}$ production in p Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV

The production of prompt D + and $D^+_s$ mesons is studied in proton-lead collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{^{S}NN}$ = 5.02 TeV. The data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of (1.58 ± 0.02)nb –1 is collected by the LHCb experiment at the LHC. The differential production cross-sections are measured using D + and $D^+_s$ candidates with transverse momentum in the range of 0 < p T < 14 GeV/c and rapidities in the ranges of 1.5 < y* < 4.0 and –5.0 < y* < –2.5 in the nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass system. For both particles, the nuclear modification factor and the forward-backward production ratio are determined. These results are compared with theoretical models that include initial-state nuclear effects. In addition, measurements of the cross-section ratios between D + , $D^+_s$ and D 0 mesons are presented, providing a baseline for studying the charm hadronization in lead-lead collisions at LHC energies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Study of charm hadronization with prompt $ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+} $ baryons in proton-proton and lead-lead collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}} $ = 5.02 TeV

The production of prompt $ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+} $ baryons is measured via the exclusive decay channel $ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+}\to p{\textrm{K}}^{-}{\pi}^{+} $ at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV, using proton-proton (pp) and lead-lead (PbPb) collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. The pp and PbPb data were obtained in 2017 and 2018 with integrated luminosities of 252 and 0.607 nb$^{−1}$, respectively. The measurements are performed within the $ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+} $ rapidity interval |y| < 1 with transverse momentum (p$_{T}$) ranges of 3–30 and 6–40 GeV/c for pp and PbPb collisions, respectively. Compared to the yields in pp collisions scaled by the expected number of nucleon-nucleon interactions, the observed yields of $ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+} $ with p$_{T}$> 10 GeV/c are strongly suppressed in PbPb collisions. The level of suppression depends significantly on the collision centrality. The $ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+} $/D$^{0}$ production ratio is similar in PbPb and pp collisions at p$_{T}$> 10 GeV/c, suggesting that the coalescence process does not play a dominant role in prompt $ {\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+} $ baryon production at higher p$_{T}$.[graphic not available: see fulltext]

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of the ${\Lambda}_c^{+}$ to D 0 production ratio in peripheral PbPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV

We report on a measurement of the ${\Lambda}_c^{+}$ to D 0 production ratio in peripheral PbPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV with the LHCb detector in the forward rapidity region 2 < y < 4.5. The ${\Lambda}_c^{+}$ (D 0 ) hadrons are reconstructed via the decay channel ${\Lambda}_c^{+}$ → pK – π + (D 0 → K – π + ) for 2 < p T < 8 GeV/c and in the centrality range of about 65–90%. The results show no significant dependence on p T , y or the mean number of participating nucleons. They are also consistent with similar measurements obtained by the LHCb collaboration in pPb and Pbp collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV. The data agree well with predictions from PYTHIA in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5 TeV but are in tension with predictions of the Statistical Hadronization model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗