Extraction of Heavy-Flavor Transport Coefficients in QCD Matter

TL;DR

This paper systematically investigates the modeling of heavy-flavor transport in QCD matter, aiming to quantify uncertainties and improve estimates of diffusion and energy loss coefficients relevant for high-energy nuclear collisions.

Contribution

It introduces comprehensive procedures for uncertainty quantification and criteria for model components to refine estimates of heavy-flavor transport coefficients in QCD matter.

Findings

Quantified uncertainties in heavy-flavor diffusion and energy loss models.

Developed criteria for model component consistency and error assessment.

Provided improved estimates of transport coefficients as functions of temperature.

Abstract

We report on broadly based systematic investigations of the modeling components for open heavy-flavor diffusion and energy loss in strongly interacting matter in their application to heavy-flavor observables in high-energy heavy-ion collisions, conducted within an EMMI Rapid Reaction Task Force framework. Initial spectra including cold-nuclear-matter effects, a wide variety of space-time evolution models, heavy-flavor transport coefficients, and hadronization mechanisms are scrutinized in an effort to quantify pertinent uncertainties in the calculations of nuclear modification factors and elliptic flow of open heavy-flavor particles in nuclear collisions. We develop procedures for error assessments and criteria for common model components to improve quantitative estimates for the (low-momentum) heavy-flavor diffusion coefficient as a long-wavelength characteristic of QCD matter as a function of temperature, and for energy loss coefficients of high-momentum heavy-flavor particles.