D meson nuclear modification factors in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV measured with the ALICE detector at the CERN-LHC

TL;DR

This paper reports measurements of D meson production in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV using the ALICE detector, providing insights into the properties of the quark-gluon plasma and partonic energy loss mechanisms.

Contribution

It presents the first measurements of D meson nuclear modification factors in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV with detailed reconstruction techniques.

Findings

D mesons show suppression in Pb-Pb collisions indicating energy loss in the medium.

Results help characterize the hot QCD medium created in heavy-ion collisions.

Measurements are consistent with models of partonic energy loss.

Abstract

The properties of the hot and dense QCD medium formed in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions, as well as the mechanism of in-medium partonic energy loss, can be accessed via the study of the D mesons nuclear modification factor. The ALICE experiment has measured D meson production in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC at $\sqrt{s}$ =7 and 2.76 TeV and at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV, respectively, via the exclusive reconstruction of hadronic decay channels. D mesons are selected by exploiting the high-resolution tracking performance and the hadron identification capabilities of the ALICE detectors. In this contribution we report on the analyses of the D$^0\rightarrow $K$^-\pi^+$, the D$^+ \rightarrow $K$^- \pi^+ \pi^+$ and the D$^{*+}\rightarrow $D$^0 \pi^+$ channels. The preliminary results on D mesons nuclear modification factors are presented.