Production of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at high transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ and 2.76 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports measurements of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in Pb-Pb collisions at two energies, revealing how their production is suppressed in central collisions and providing data to test models of parton energy loss in quark-gluon plasma.

Contribution

First detailed measurement of heavy-flavour muon production in Pb-Pb collisions at two different energies, constraining models of parton energy loss in hot QCD medium.

Findings

Suppression of muon yields increases with collision centrality.

Approximately threefold suppression in the most central collisions.

Similar suppression levels at 5.02 TeV and 2.76 TeV energies.

Abstract

Measurements of the production of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = $5.02$ and $2.76$ TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported. The nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$ at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV is measured at forward rapidity ($2.5 < y <4$) as a function of transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}$ in central, semi-central, and peripheral collisions over a wide $p_{\rm T}$ interval, $3 < p_{\rm T} < 20$ GeV/$c$, in which muons from beauty-hadron decays are expected to take over from charm as the dominant source at high $p_{\rm T}$ ($p_{\rm T} > 7$ GeV/$c$). The $R_{\rm AA}$ shows an increase of the suppression of the yields of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays with increasing centrality. A suppression by a factor of about three is observed in the $10\%$ most central collisions. The $R_{\rm AA}$ at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 is similar to that at 2.76 TeV. The precise $R_{\rm AA}$ measurements have the potential to distinguish between model predictions implementing different mechanisms of parton energy loss in the high-density medium formed in heavy-ion collisions. They place important constraints for the understanding of the heavy-quark interaction with the hot and dense QCD medium.