Relativistic light-on-heavy nuclear collisions and the implied rapidity asymmetry

TL;DR

This paper models pseudorapidity asymmetry in proton-nucleus and deuteron-nucleus collisions using a pQCD-improved parton model, analyzing effects of nuclear shadowing and multiple scattering, and predicts asymmetries at LHC energies.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive pQCD-based framework that incorporates nuclear shadowing and multiple scattering to predict pseudorapidity asymmetries across various energies.

Findings

Model successfully describes existing spectra at FNAL and RHIC.

Predicts significant pseudorapidity asymmetries at LHC energies.

Highlights the roles of shadowing and multiple scattering in asymmetry formation.

Abstract

We calculate pseudorapidity ($\eta$) asymmetry in $pA$ and $dA$ collisions in a pQCD-improved parton model. With the calculations tuned to describe existing spectra from $pp$ collisions and asymmetric systems at midrapidity and large rapidities at FNAL and RHIC energies, we investigate the roles of nuclear shadowing and multiple scattering on the observed asymmetry. Using this framework, we make predictions for pseudorapidity asymmetries at high $p_T$ and large $\eta$ in a wide range of energies up to LHC.