Heavy-flavor production and medium properties in high-energy nuclear collisions - What next?

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent progress in heavy-flavor physics in high-energy nuclear collisions, emphasizing experimental and theoretical advances towards understanding quark-gluon plasma properties and linking findings to lattice QCD.

Contribution

It summarizes current understanding and proposes strategies for future research to deepen knowledge of quark-gluon plasma using heavy-flavor probes.

Findings

Debates on heavy-flavor dynamics at the Lorentz Workshop 2016

Developed strategies for next five years of research

Linking experimental results with lattice QCD advancements

Abstract

Open and hidden heavy-flavor physics in high-energy nuclear collisions are entering a new and exciting stage towards reaching a clearer understanding of the new experimental results with the possibility to link them directly to the advancement in lattice Quantum Chromo-dynamics (QCD). Recent results from experiments and theoretical developments regarding open and hidden heavy-flavor dynamics have been debated at the Lorentz Workshop "Tomography of the quark-gluon plasma with heavy quarks}, which was held in October 2016 in Leiden, the Netherlands. In this contribution, we summarize identified common understandings and developed strategies for the upcoming five years, which aim at achieving a profound knowledge of the dynamical properties of the quark-gluon plasma.