Quantum mechanical model for J/psi suppression in the LHC era

TL;DR

This paper presents a quantum mechanical model using a time-dependent harmonic oscillator to analyze J/psi suppression in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC, incorporating screening, absorption, and regeneration effects, and compares it with experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a complex oscillator strength model for quarkonia evolution, accounting for medium effects and interpreting recent experimental suppression patterns.

Findings

Model aligns with CERN and RHIC data on J/psi suppression.

Temperature-dependent screening and absorption effects are significant.

Possible link between suppression patterns and the X(3872) state.

Abstract

We discuss the interplay of screening, absorption and regeneration effects, on the quantum mechanical evolution of quarkonia states, within a time-dependent harmonic oscillator (THO) model with complex oscillator strength. We compare the results with data for R_AA/R_AA(CNM) from CERN and RHIC experiments. In the absence of a measurement of cold nuclear matter (CNM) effects at LHC we estimate their role and interpret the recent data from the ALICE experiment. We also discuss the temperature dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the oscillator frequency which stand for screening and absorption/regeneration, respectively. We point out that a structure in the J/psi suppression pattern for In-In collisions at SPS is possibly related to the recently found X(3872) state in the charmonium spectrum. Theoretical support for this hypothesis comes from the cluster expansion of the plasma Hamiltonian for heavy quarkonia in a strongly correlated medium.