Collectivity Signatures in High-Multiplicity pp Collisions from Hybrid Hydro+Tsallis Modeling of Pion Spectra

TL;DR

This study analyzes pion transverse momentum spectra in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions at 7 TeV using hybrid hydro+Tsallis models, revealing signs of collectivity and thermalization in small systems through systematic parameter trends.

Contribution

It introduces a combined Hydro+Tsallis modeling approach that more reliably describes pion spectra and extracts thermodynamic quantities indicating collective behavior in high-multiplicity pp collisions.

Findings

Hydro+Tsallis model fits spectra better than Tsallis-only model.

Parameters like temperature and flow velocity increase with multiplicity.

Evidence of partial thermalization and collectivity in small collision systems.

Abstract

The transverse momentum (pT) distributions up to pT = 20 GeV/c for pions produced in the ten different multiplicity classes (MCs) of symmetric pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV have been investigated. Two distinct models, the Tsallis-Pareto type function (model) and the combined BGBW model and Tsallis-Pareto type model have been employed to fit the pT distributions via the minimum chi-square method. The combined Hydro+Tsallis model is more reliably describing the pT spectra than the Tsallis-Pareto model. The Tsallis temperature (T), non-extensivity parameter (q), normalization constant (N0), Kinetic freeze-out temperature (T0), transverse flow velocity (betaT), and (mean pT) have been extracted through the fitting procedure via the employed models. The Tsallis-Pareto model gives T, q, N0 and mean pT while Hydro+Tsallis model gives T0, betaT, T, q, N0 and mean pT. Incorporating the values of the extracted T and q the thermodynamic quantities and response functions, including energy density (epsilon), particle density (n), entropy density (s), pressure (P), specific heat at constant volume (CV), squared speed of sound (cs2), mean free path (lambda), Knudsen number (Kn), isothermal compressibility (kappaT), and expansion coefficient (alpha) have been calculated at the freeze-out stage. It has been observed that T, betaT, mean pT, N0, epsilon, n, s, P, CV, cs2, and alpha increase with increasing(decreasing) the charged particles multiplicity density dNch/deta(MCs). While T0, q, lambda, Kn, and kappaT decrease with increasing(decreasing) dNch/deta(MCs). These systematic variations in the trends of parameters might suggest the gradual transition towards collectivity and thermal equilibration in the high multiplicity pp events, possibly signalling enhanced collective dynamics and partial thermalization in small collision systems.