Energy loss and equilibration of jets in a QCD plasma

TL;DR

This paper models the in-medium fragmentation and equilibration of jets in a high-temperature QCD plasma using an effective kinetic theory, accounting for radiative and elastic interactions, to better understand jet quenching and plasma thermalization.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive kinetic theory approach that includes both radiative and elastic processes for jet evolution in a QCD medium, extending from jet energy scales to medium temperature.

Findings

Demonstrates chemical and kinetic equilibration of soft jet fragments.

Provides insights into jet quenching mechanisms in heavy ion collisions.

Discusses implications for quark-gluon plasma thermalization.

Abstract

We investigate the medium induced fragmentation of jets in a high-temperature QCD plasma. Based on an effective kinetic theory of QCD, we study the non-equilibrium evolution of the jet shower and the chemical equilibration of jet fragments in the medium. By including radiative emissions as well as elastic interactions, our approach extends all the way from the jet energy scale to the temperature of the medium and includes important effects such as the recoil of the medium. We present results for the in-medium fragmentation, including chemical and kinetic equilibration of the soft fragments and discuss implications of our result to jet quenching physics and the problem of thermalization of the quark-gluon plasma in heavy ion collisions.