Effects of hadronic reinteraction on jet fragmentation from small to large systems

TL;DR

This paper examines how hadronic rescattering influences jet fragmentation in small and large systems, revealing measurable effects even in limited particle production environments, using a comprehensive simulation framework.

Contribution

It provides a systematic analysis of hadronic reinteraction effects on jet quenching across different system sizes with a novel simulation approach.

Findings

Hadronic rescattering causes measurable modifications in jet observables.

Even small systems exhibit significant hadronic interaction effects.

The study uses the X-SCAPE event generator with SMASH afterburner for analysis.

Abstract

We investigate the impact of the hadronic phase on jet quenching in nuclear collider experiments, an open question in heavy-ion physics. Previous studies in a simplified setup suggest that hadronic interactions could have significant effects, but a systematic analysis is needed. Using the X-SCAPE event generator with the SMASH afterburner, we study the role of hadronic rescattering on jet fragmentation hadrons. Applying this framework to $e^++e^-$ collisions, we demonstrate that even in small systems with limited particle production, hadronic interactions lead to measurable modifications in final-state hadronic and jet observables by comparing scenarios with and without afterburner rescattering.