No Arabic abstract
Using a recursive solution of the Yang-Mills equation, we calculate analytic expressions for the gluon fields created in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions at small times $tau$. We have worked out explicit solutions for the fields and the energy momentum tensor up to 4th order in an expansion in $tau$. We generalize the McLerran-Venugopalan model to allow for a systematic treatment of averaged charge densities $mu^2$ that vary as a function of transverse coordinates. This allows us to calculate radial, elliptic and directed flow of gluon fields. Our results can serve as initial conditions for hydrodynamic simulations of nuclear collisions that include initial flow.
We construct a generalization of the McLerran-Venugopalan (MV) model including helicity effects for a longitudinally polarized target (a proton or a large nucleus). The extended MV model can serve as the initial condition for the helicity generalization of the JIMWLK evolution equation constructed in our previous paper, as well as for calculation of helicity-dependent observables in the quasi-classical approximation to QCD.
We study discrepancy between the analytical definition and the numerical implementation of the McLerran-Venugopalan (MV) model. The infinitesimal extent of a fast-moving nucleus should retain longitudinal randomness in the color source distribution even when the longitudinal extent approximates zero due to the Lorentz contraction, which is properly taken into account in the analytical treatment. We point out that the longitudinal randomness is lost in numerical simulations because of lack of the path-ordering of the Wilson line along the longitudinal direction. We quantitatively investigate how much the results with and without longitudinal randomness differ from each other. We finally mention that the discrepancy could be absorbed in a choice of the model parameter in the physical unit, and nevertheless, it is important for a full theory approach.
The two component Monte-Carlo Glauber model predicts a knee-like structure in the centrality dependence of elliptic flow $v_2$ in Uranium+Uranium collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}=193$ GeV. It also produces a strong anti-correlation between $v_2$ and $dN_{ch}/dy$ in the case of top ZDC events. However, none of these features have been observed in data. We address these discrepancies by including the effect of nucleon shadowing to the two component Monte-Carlo Glauber model. Apart from addressing successfully the above issues, we find that the nucleon shadow suppresses the event by event fluctuation of various quantities, e.g. $varepsilon_2$ which is in accordance with expectation from the dynamical models of initial condition based on gluon saturation physics.
A current goal of relativistic heavy ion collisions experiments is the search for a Color Glass Condensate as the limiting state of QCD matter at very high density. In viscous hydrodynamics simulations, a standard Glauber initial condition leads to estimate $4pi eta/s sim 1$, while a Color Glass Condensate modeling leads to at least a factor of 2 larger $eta/s$. Within a kinetic theory approach based on a relativistic Boltzmann-like transport simulation, we point out that the out-of-equilibrium initial distribution proper of a Color Glass Condensate reduces the efficiency in building-up the elliptic flow. Our main result at RHIC energy is that the available data on $v_2$ are in agreement with a $4pi eta/s sim 1$ also for Color Glass Condensate initial conditions, opening the possibility to describe self-consistently also higher order flow, otherwise significantly underestimated, and to pursue further the search for signatures of the Color Glass Condensate.
We investigate a (3+1)-dimensional hydrodynamic expansion of the hot and dense system created in head-on collisions of Pb+Pb/Au+Au at beam energies from $5-200A$ GeV. An equation of state that incorporates a critical end point (CEP) in line with the lattice data is used. The necessary initial conditions for the hydrodynamic evolution are taken from a microscopic transport approach (UrQMD). We compare the properties of the initial state and the full hydrodynamical calculation with an isentropic expansion employing an initial state from a simple overlap model. We find that the specific entropy ($S/A$) from both initial conditions is very similar and only depends on the underlying equation of state. Using the chiral (hadronic) equation of state we investigate the expansion paths for both initial conditions. Defining a critical area around the critical point, we show at what beam energies one can expect to have a sizable fraction of the system close to the critical point. Finally, we emphasise the importance of the equation of state of strongly interacting matter, in the (experimental) search for the CEP.