Development of heavy-flavour flow-harmonics in high-energy nuclear collisions

TL;DR

This paper uses the POWLANG transport model to predict heavy-flavour flow harmonics and nuclear modification factors in high-energy nuclear collisions, comparing results with experimental data to understand the origins of flow signals.

Contribution

It provides new predictions for heavy-flavour flow harmonics and nuclear modification factors using a consistent transport framework across RHIC and LHC energies.

Findings

Flow harmonics $v_2$ and $v_3$ develop from initial geometric asymmetries.

Nuclear modification factors for charm and beauty are analyzed.

Decoupling stages contribute differently to observed flow harmonics.

Abstract

We employ the POWLANG transport setup, developed over the last few years, to provide new predictions for several heavy-flavour observables in relativistic heavy-ion collisions from RHIC to LHC center-of-mass energies. In particular, we focus on the development of the flow-harmonics $v_2$ and $v_3$ arising from the initial geometric asymmetry in the initial conditions and its associated event-by-event fluctuations. Within the same transport framework, for the sake of consistency, we also compare the nuclear modification factor of the $p_T$ spectra of charm and beauty quarks, heavy hadrons and their decay electrons. We compare our findings to the most recent data from the experimental collaborations. We also study in detail the contribution to the flow harmonics from the quarks decoupling from the fireball during the various stages of its evolution: although not directly accessible to the experiments, this information can shed light on the major sources of the final measured effect.