Probing nuclear matter with jets

TL;DR

This paper reviews how jet measurements in high-energy heavy ion collisions reveal properties of the quark-gluon plasma by analyzing jet suppression and modifications using perturbative QCD techniques.

Contribution

It provides selected results on jet cross section modifications and related observables in hot and dense nuclear media, focusing on inclusive jets, dijets, and Z^0/γ* tagged jets.

Findings

Jet cross sections are suppressed in nuclear medium.

Jet modifications depend on medium density and temperature.

Perturbative QCD accurately describes jet behavior in heavy ion collisions.

Abstract

Jet physics in relativistic heavy ion collisions, which combines perturbative QCD jet production with quark and gluon energy loss and in-medium parton shower modification, has emerged as a powerful tool to probe the properties of strongly-interacting matter formed in high-energy nuclear reactions. We present selected results for the modification of jet cross sections and related observables in the ambiance of hot and/or dense nuclear medium. We focus on the inclusive jet spectrum and dijets [${\cal O}(\alpha_s^3) $], and $Z^0/\gamma^*$ tagged jets [${\cal O}(G_F\alpha_s^2) $] in the framework of perturbative QCD.