Dielectrons at the LHC -- Chances and challenges

TL;DR

This paper reviews the potential of dielectron measurements at the LHC to probe quark-gluon plasma properties, discusses experimental challenges, and highlights recent and future detector upgrades to improve measurement sensitivity.

Contribution

It provides an overview of dielectron observables in heavy-ion collisions and discusses how detector upgrades can enhance their measurement capabilities.

Findings

Dielectron signals are sensitive to QGP temperature and chiral symmetry restoration.

Experimental challenges include small production cross sections and large backgrounds.

Upcoming detector upgrades aim to improve dielectron measurement precision.

Abstract

Dielectrons are unique observables in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Thanks to their penetrating nature, they carry information from all stages of the collision and can provide knowledge about pre-equilibirium dynamics, QGP temperature and transport coefficients, and chiral symmetry restoration. On the other hand, experimental challenges are enormous because production cross sections are small and the signal of interest is eclipsed by a huge combinatorial and physics background from light- and heavy-flavour hadron decays. In this talk the status of dielectron measurements with ALICE is shown and the perspectives with the recently installed and planned ALICE detector upgrades are discussed.