The physics potential of proton-nucleus collisions at the TeV scale

TL;DR

This paper discusses the unique physics opportunities presented by proton-nucleus collisions at TeV energies at the LHC, highlighting their importance for exploring high-density QCD regimes and interpreting heavy-ion collision data.

Contribution

It emphasizes the significance of p+Pb and d+Au runs for understanding high-density QCD phenomena and complements existing heavy-ion collision studies at the LHC and RHIC.

Findings

Identification of uncharted QCD regions at TeV energies

Importance of proton-nucleus data for interpreting heavy-ion results

Potential to study high-density and high-temperature QCD regimes

Abstract

The LHC brings nuclear collisions to the TeV scale for the first time and the first data show the qualitative differences of this new regime. The corresponding phase-space available encompasses completely uncharted regions of QCD in which high-density or high-temperature domains can be identified. Proton-nucleus runs are essential for a complete interpretation of the data and for the study of new regimes dominated by large occupation numbers in the hadronic wave function. I comment here the physics opportunities for p+Pb runs at the LHC and d+Au runs at RHIC and the corresponding needs in view of the new Pb+Pb data from the LHC.