WIDG Seminar: Caitie Beattie, Yale, “Probing the Link Between Jet Modification and the QGP”

The Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), a phase of matter characterised by the deconfinement of its constituent quarks and gluons (partons), exists only at extremely high energy densities, such as those produced immediately after the Big Bang. By colliding heavy ions at high energies, we are able to reproduce the extreme conditions necessary for QGP formation, providing an excellent testing ground for studying the properties of high temperature QCD. While it has traditionally been assumed that heavy ion collisions are the only way to produce the medium in the laboratory, observations of collective behaviour originating from small systems (pp, p-A) collisions challenge this simple picture. One tool we can use to refine our understanding is the study of jets, the products of high transverse momentum partons that traverse the QGP and fragment into a shower of observable particles. Because the originating partons are expected to interact strongly with the medium, we have conventionally associated signs of jet modification, historically absent in small systems data, with QGP formation. Recent preliminary observations suggest, however, that jet deflection may be present in a specific subset of this small systems data: high multiplicity pp collisions. This talk will discuss possible explanations for the observed modification, as well as plans for future studies to help us to better understand the nature of jet energy loss.
Host: Tong Liu
Zoom link: https://yale.zoom.us/j/754440361
WIDG is a biweekly seminar held at Wright Lab with talks generally given by Yale Physics graduate students and postdocs on a variety of topics, including Cosmology, Nuclear, Particle, Neutrino, AMO, and Theoretical Physics. The seminar is open to all members of the Yale Physics community.