Improved linear Boltzmann transport model for hadron and jet suppression in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions

TL;DR

This paper enhances the linear Boltzmann transport model to better describe hadron and jet suppression in quark-gluon plasma, incorporating a medium scale and color flow to improve agreement with experimental data.

Contribution

The paper introduces a medium scale for parton transport and incorporates color flow into the LBT model, advancing the simultaneous description of hadron and jet quenching.

Findings

Improved model matches experimental nuclear modification factors.

Inclusion of color flow affects hadron-to-jet quenching ratios.

Model provides a unified framework for different flavor suppression.

Abstract

Jets serve as powerful tomographic probes of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. While the expanding landscape of jet observables reveals multi-faceted aspects of jet-medium interactions, a precise and simultaneous description of the nuclear modification factors of hadrons and full jets still remains a challenge for theoretical models. In this work, we present two essential improvements to the linear Boltzmann transport (LBT) model to bridge this gap. First, instead of implementing in-medium parton transport after vacuum parton showers complete, we introduce a medium scale at which the parton transport is inserted into the vacuum parton showers, providing a more physical picture of parton-QGP interactions. Second, we incorporate color flow information into the LBT model, enabling string connections between partons whose configurations are correlated with the medium-modified parton showers before hadronization. We demonstrate that both improvements alter the predicted ratio of hadron to jet quenching, leading to a satisfactory description of the nuclear modification factors of hadrons and jets with different flavors within a unified framework.