Cold nuclear effects on heavy flavours (a review)

TL;DR

This review discusses how cold nuclear matter effects influence heavy quark and quarkonia production in proton-nucleus collisions, providing insights essential for understanding signals of quark-gluon plasma formation.

Contribution

It compiles and analyzes current experimental results on cold nuclear effects on heavy flavors, highlighting areas needing further research.

Findings

Cold nuclear effects significantly modify heavy flavor yields.

Understanding these effects is crucial for interpreting quark-gluon plasma signals.

Current experimental data show diverse behaviors across different collision systems.

Abstract

Before wondering about the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), one has to take into account various cold (normal) nuclear matter effects, that can be probed through p+A like collisions. This article aims at reviewing the current results (and understanding) of these effects on heavy quarks and quarkonia production.