In-Medium Quarkonia at SPS, RHIC and LHC

TL;DR

This paper models the evolution of quarkonium states in heavy-ion collisions using a kinetic-rate equation approach, integrating lattice QCD data and experimental constraints to predict outcomes at different collider energies.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive kinetic-rate equation framework constrained by lattice QCD and experimental data to study quarkonium suppression across SPS, RHIC, and LHC.

Findings

Successfully describes charmonium data at SPS and RHIC.

Provides predictions for quarkonium behavior at LHC energies.

Integrates lattice QCD spectral functions with kinetic modeling.

Abstract

A kinetic-rate equation approach in a thermally expanding medium is employed to calculate the evolution of charmonium and bottomonium distributions in heavy-ion collisions. The equilibrium properties of the quarkonia are taken from in-medium spectral functions which are schematically constrained by euclidean correlators from lattice QCD. The initial conditions for the rate equation (heavy-flavor cross sections, nuclear absorption) and the thermal evolution are constrained by data as available. After fixing two free parameters to describe charmonium data at SPS and RHIC, the predictions for LHC are discussed in light of recent data.