Hadronization of correlated gluon fields

TL;DR

This paper presents a detailed event-by-event framework for modeling hadron production in high-energy collisions, integrating gluon field dynamics with hadronization, and analyzing resulting particle spectra and anisotropies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel spacetime-based clustering algorithm and combines the Color Glass Condensate theory with Herwig for comprehensive hadronization modeling.

Findings

Computed charged hadron spectra and azimuthal anisotropies.

Analyzed effects of smearing and quasi-particle assumptions.

Addressed uncertainties in hadronization mechanisms.

Abstract

Following an explicit example, we present the chain of steps required for an event-by-event description of hadron production in high energy hadronic and nuclear collisions. We start from incoming nuclei, described in the Color Glass Condensate effective theory, whose collision creates the gluon fields of the glasma. Individual gluons are then sampled from the gluon fields' Husimi (smeared Wigner) distributions, and clustered using a new spacetime based algorithm. Clusters are fed into the Herwig event generator, which performs the hadronization, conserving energy and momentum. We discuss the physical implications of smearing and problems with the quasi particle picture for the studied processes. We compute spectra of charged hadrons and identified particles and their azimuthal momentum anisotropies, and address systematic uncertainties on observables, resulting from the general lack of detailed knowledge of the hadronization mechanism.