Heavy hadron production in Au + Au collisions at a center-of-mass energy of s N N = 200 GeV
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Using the Monte Carlo HYDJET + + model, we investigate the transverse momentum ( p T ) spectra of heavy-flavor hadrons, namely D 0 , D ¯ 0 , D + , D − , and Λ c , along with the nuclear modification factors of D 0 and D ± in Au + Au collisions at s N N = 200 GeV RHIC energy across various centrality bins. This work extends the earlier study by relaxing the assumption of identical chemical and thermal freezeout and by exploring the effect of a higher chemical freezeout temperature relative to thermal freezeout. The study also explores the centrality and mass dependence of the charm enhancement factor ( γ c ). Furthermore, we investigate medium-induced energy loss, particle-antiparticle asymmetry, and the role of fragmentation in the hadronization process. The HYDJET + + model, with its default parameters, is unable to reproduce heavy hadron yields due to their early thermal freezeout and initial state production of heavy quarks. Therefore, a systematic tuning of model parameters is performed to improve the overall agreement with experimental data. Additionally, to assess the performance of the HYDJET + + model relative to other theoretical approaches, its results are compared with the TAMU, SUBATECH, Torino, and Duke models, for which corresponding simulation data are available. This study shows a decreasing trend in γ c from central to peripheral collisions. Moreover, γ c increases with increasing charm-hadron mass. The model approximately reproduces the experimental data of p T spectra at low and intermediate p T . However, it overestimates the data at high p T , indicating a need for improvements in modeling the energy loss of heavy quarks. The nuclear modification factors ( R A A and R C P ) for D 0 mesons exhibit significant suppression at high p T . At low p T , R A A results show deviations from the data, reflecting limitations in the model where coalescence becomes important. The antiparticle-to-particle ratios are consistent with experimental data, whereas mixed-particle ratios are underestimated, revealing the model's limitation in estimating the baryon-to-meson enhancement.
Source: Physical Review C
DOI: 10.1103/fj5b-fgv9
Authors: Sunidhi Saxena, Rajiv Gupta, Gauri Devi, Ajay Kumar
Institution: Banaras Hindu University
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4417212739