$D^0$--$D_s^+$ elliptic-flow splitting from sequential hadronization in O--O collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 5.36$ TeV

TL;DR

This study predicts and analyzes the elliptic-flow splitting between $D^0$ and $D_s^+$ mesons in oxygen-oxygen collisions at 5.36 TeV, highlighting the role of sequential hadronization and its potential as a QGP chronometer.

Contribution

It introduces a sequential hadronization model to explain $D$ meson flow splitting and predicts its behavior in O--O collisions, extending understanding beyond Pb--Pb systems.

Findings

Sequential hadronization reproduces observed $v_2$ ordering.

Predicted enhanced $D_s^+/D^0$ ratio at low $p_T$ in O--O.

Flow splitting correlates linearly with partonic flow during hadronization window.

Abstract

We investigate the elliptic-flow splitting between prompt $D^0$ and $D_s^+$ mesons in O--O and Pb--Pb collisions within a heavy-quark transport framework with sequential hadronization, in which $D_s^+$ forms at $1.2\,T_c$ and $D^0$ at $T_c$. We present predictions for the $p_T$-differential $v_2$ and $D_s^+/D^0$ yield ratio in O--O $0$--$20\%$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 5.36$~TeV. The sequential scenario reproduces the $v_2(D^0) > v_2(D_s^+)$ ordering observed in preliminary ALICE data and predicts an enhanced $D_s^+/D^0$ ratio at low $p_T$, whereas a simultaneous baseline yields the opposite $v_2$ ordering. The splitting in O--O is substantially smaller than in Pb--Pb $30$--$50\%$, which we trace to the competition between the initial geometric eccentricity and the duration of the $1.2\,T_c \to T_c$ evolution window. A systematic scan across nine collision configurations reveals a universal linear scaling between the hadronic splitting and the partonic flow increment accumulated during this window, establishing the $D^0$--$D_s^+$ flow splitting as a hadronization chronometer of the quark-gluon plasma.