Transverse momentum diffusion and jet energy loss in non-Abelian plasmas

TL;DR

This paper investigates how high-energy partons lose energy and undergo momentum broadening in a hot non-Abelian plasma by solving lattice-based Wong-Yang-Mills equations, revealing key scaling behaviors and contributions from high-momentum tails.

Contribution

It introduces a lattice simulation approach including elastic collisions to study jet quenching, highlighting the impact of high-momentum tails on transverse momentum broadening and establishing scaling laws.

Findings

Transport coefficient $$ is significantly affected by high-momentum tail contributions.

Scaling laws for $$ and $dE/dx$ with plasma density, temperature, and energy are established.

Elastic energy loss impacts the nuclear modification factor $R_{AA}$ in jet quenching.

Abstract

We consider momentum broadening and energy loss of high momentum partons in a hot non-Abelian plasma due to collisions. We solve the coupled system of Wong-Yang-Mills equations on a lattice in real time, including binary hard elastic collisions among the partons. The collision kernel is constructed such that the total collisional energy loss and momentum broadening are lattice spacing independent. We find that the transport coefficient $\hat{q}$ corresponding to transverse momentum broadening receives sizable contributions from a power-law tail in the $p_\perp$-distribution of high-momentum partons. We establish the scaling of $\hat{q}$ and of $dE/dx$ with density, temperature and energy in the weak-coupling regime. We also estimate the nuclear modification factor $R_{AA}$ due to elastic energy loss of a jet in a classical Yang-Mills field.