Dynamics of heavy flavor quarks in high energy nuclear collisions

TL;DR

This paper reviews how heavy flavor quarks serve as probes in high energy nuclear collisions, analyzing experimental data and models to understand medium properties, hadronization, thermalization, and jet quenching effects.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of heavy quark dynamics in nuclear collisions, including new insights into transport coefficients and medium modifications.

Findings

Extraction of transport coefficients from experimental data

Evidence of modifications in heavy flavor hadronization

Analysis of heavy flavor role in jet quenching

Abstract

A general overview on the role of heavy quarks as probes of the medium formed in high energy nuclear collisions is presented. Experimental data compared to model calculations at low and moderate pT are exploited to extract information on the transport coefficients of the medium, on possible modifications of heavy flavor hadronization in a hot environment and to provide quantitative answers to the issue of kinetic (and chemical, at conceivable future experimental facilities) thermalization of charm. Finally, the role of heavy flavor at high pT as a tool to study the mass and color-charge dependence the jet quenching is also analyzed.