Jet charge modification in dense QCD matter

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical calculation of how jet charge is modified in heavy-ion collisions compared to proton collisions at the LHC, providing insights into the quark-gluon plasma and jet flavor composition.

Contribution

It introduces a method within soft-collinear effective theory to evaluate jet charge modifications in dense QCD matter, extending previous studies to flavor-tagged jets.

Findings

Predictions for the transverse momentum dependence of jet charge in nucleus-nucleus collisions.

Identification of observables sensitive to in-medium branching effects.

Quantitative estimates of jet charge modification relative to proton collisions.

Abstract

In these proceedings we report a recent calculation of the jet charge modification in heavy-ion relative to proton collisions at the LHC. Jets have played an essential role in constraining theories of in-medium parton shower evolution and in determining the properties of the quark-gluon plasma created in ultra-relativistic nuclear reactions. It is important to extend these studies to flavor-tagged jets and explore observables that are sensitive to their partonic origin. The average jet charge, introduced early on in the history of quantum chromodynamics, is a proxy for the electric charge of the quark or gluon that initiates the jet. In the framework of soft-collinear effective theory, we show how to evaluate the jet charge in a dense strongly-interacting matter environments. We identify observables that can isolate the contribution of in-medium branching from isospin effects and present predictions for the transverse momentum dependence of the jet charge distribution in nucleus-nucleus collisions and its modification relative to the proton case.