Valence quark-stopping and gluon junction-stopping scenarios in electron-nucleus collisions at the forthcoming Electron-Ion Collider: Which one is correct?

TL;DR

This paper compares valence quark and gluon junction stopping scenarios in high-energy electron-nucleus collisions, concluding that valence quark stopping aligns better with current data and can be tested at the upcoming EIC.

Contribution

It provides a multi-source thermal model analysis favoring the valence quark stopping scenario over the gluon junction scenario in high-energy collisions.

Findings

Data favors valence quark stopping scenario

Gluon junction scenario is less consistent with current data

EIC experiments can further validate the preferred scenario

Abstract

In the current literature, two stopping scenarios are being discussed in the context of high-energy collisions: the valence quark scenario and the gluon or baryon junction scenario. In the valence quark-stopping scenario, three valence quarks each contribute one-third of the baryon number within a baryon. Conversely, in the gluon junction-stopping scenario, the gluon junction is responsible for carrying the entire baryon number. At present, there is no consensus regarding which type of stopping scenario is correct. Based on a multi-source thermal model, our investigation indicates that the experimental data analyzed in both previous and present studies suggest that the valence quark-stopping scenario is more suitable for semi-quantitative discussions in high-energy collisions. It is anticipated that this scenario can be further validated through electron-nucleus ($eA$) collisions at the forthcoming Electron-Ion Collider (EIC).