Long Range Correlations and the Soft Ridge in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions

TL;DR

This paper explains the long-range azimuthal correlations, known as the ridge, observed in relativistic heavy ion collisions by linking early-stage glasma flux tubes to later transverse flow, matching experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a combined model of glasma flux tubes and transverse flow to explain the ridge phenomenon in heavy ion collisions, providing a new theoretical framework.

Findings

The model reproduces the ridge structure observed in experiments.

Transverse flow fixed by single-particle spectra explains the correlation.

Good agreement with current experimental data.

Abstract

Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider experiments exhibit correlations peaked in relative azimuthal angle and extended in rapidity. Called the ridge, this peak occurs both with and without a jet trigger. We argue that the untriggered ridge arises when particles formed by flux tubes in an early glasma stage later manifest transverse flow. Combining a blast wave model of flow fixed by single-particle spectra with a simple description of the glasma, we find excellent agreement with current data.