Effective field theory approach to open heavy flavor production in heavy-ion collisions

TL;DR

This paper develops an effective field theory incorporating finite quark masses and medium interactions to improve predictions of heavy flavor production and suppression in heavy-ion collisions, aligning well with LHC data.

Contribution

It introduces SCET$_{ ext{M,G}}$, a new effective theory including quark masses and Glauber gluons, for more accurate heavy flavor energy loss calculations in QCD media.

Findings

Finite quark mass effects are significant in medium-induced splitting functions.

Results align with traditional soft gluon emission models.

Predictions match experimental data for D- and B-meson suppression at LHC energies.

Abstract

We develop a version of Soft Collinear Effective Theory (SCET) which includes finite quark masses, as well as Glauber gluons that describe the interaction of collinear partons with QCD matter. In the framework of this new effective field theory, labeled SCET$_{\mathrm{M,G}}$, we derive the massive splitting functions in the vacuum and the QCD medium for the processes $Q\to Qg$, $Q\to gQ$ and $g\to Q\bar Q$. The numerical effects due to finite quark masses are sizable and our results are consistent with the traditional approach to parton energy loss in the soft gluon emission limit. In addition, we present a new framework for including the medium-induced full splitting functions consistent with next-to-leading order calculations in QCD for inclusive hadron production. Finally, we show numerical results for the suppression of $D$- and $B$-mesons in heavy ion collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV and 2.76 TeV and compare to available data from the LHC.