Probing the QGP through $p_T$-differential radial flow of heavy quarks

TL;DR

This paper introduces the $p_T$-differential radial flow of heavy quarks as a new observable to probe the quark-gluon plasma, revealing its sensitivity to heavy quark-medium interactions and collective behavior.

Contribution

It proposes a novel $p_T$-differential radial flow observable for heavy quarks and demonstrates its effectiveness in constraining transport coefficients in the QGP.

Findings

$v_0(p_T)$ is highly sensitive to heavy quark-bulk interactions.

Heavy quarks show collective behavior driven by QGP expansion.

Low $p_T$ signatures reveal hadronization mechanisms.

Abstract

We introduce the $p_T$-differential radial flow $v_0(p_T)$ in the heavy-quark sector. Within an event-by-event Langevin framework, we show that this observable exhibits a strong sensitivity to the heavy quark-bulk interaction. It provides a powerful and novel tool to constrain the transport coefficients of heavy quarks in the QGP and, more generally, to assess the strength of the interaction of a Brownian particle in an expanding bulk medium. The results further indicate that heavy quarks exhibit collective behavior driven by the isotropic expansion of the QGP in heavy-ion collisions and, at low $p_T$, it offers a marked signature of the heavy quark hadronization mechanism.