An experimental review of open heavy flavor and quarkonium production at RHIC

TL;DR

This paper reviews experimental results on open heavy flavor and quarkonium production at RHIC, highlighting their role as probes of the hot-dense medium in heavy-ion collisions and testing QCD in p+p collisions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of recent experimental findings on heavy flavor and quarkonium at RHIC, emphasizing their physics implications.

Findings

Open heavy flavor and quarkonium serve as probes of the quark-gluon plasma.

Production results in p+p collisions test QCD predictions.

Experimental data inform understanding of medium effects in heavy-ion collisions.

Abstract

Open heavy flavor and quarkonium are unique probes of the hot-dense medium produced in heavy-ion collisions. Their production in p+p collisions also provide important test of QCD. In this paper, we review the selected results on open heavy flavor and quarkonium in p+p and heavy-ion collisions achieved at RHIC. Physics implications are also discussed.