[Paper Review] A Nuclear Physics Program at the ATLAS Experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

S. H. Aronson, K. Assamagan+8 more|ArXiv.org|Dec 13, 2002

High-Energy Particle Collisions Research14 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes a nuclear physics program within the ATLAS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, focusing on ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions to study quark-gluon plasma formation. It outlines detector capabilities, physics goals, and experimental strategies for probing strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions, contributing to the foundational framework for future heavy-ion physics at LHC energies.

ABSTRACT

The ATLAS collaboration has significant interest in the physics of ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. We submitted a Letter of Intent to the United States Department of Energy in March 2002. The following document is a slightly modified version of that LOI. More details are available at: http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/SM/ions

Motivation & Objective

• To establish a comprehensive nuclear physics program within the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.
• To investigate the properties of quark-gluon plasma formed in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
• To explore the phase diagram of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) under extreme energy densities and temperatures.
• To leverage ATLAS's detector capabilities for high-precision measurements of heavy-ion collisions.
• To submit a formal Letter of Intent to the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Physics Division to initiate collaboration and funding efforts.

Proposed method

• Utilize the ATLAS detector's full calorimetric and tracking systems to measure high-multiplicity final states in heavy-ion collisions.
• Implement advanced particle identification and jet reconstruction techniques to study parton energy loss and collective flow.
• Employ forward calorimeters and zero-degree calorimeters to measure total energy deposition and centrality selection.
• Apply event-by-event analysis and flow harmonic measurements to probe initial state geometry and final state collectivity.
• Simulate and model detector responses to optimize sensitivity to key observables such as jet quenching and elliptic flow.
• Integrate data from Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.5 TeV, consistent with LHC design parameters.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What are the key signatures of quark-gluon plasma formation in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions at the LHC?
• RQ2 How do jet quenching and collective flow patterns evolve with collision energy and centrality?
• RQ3 What is the role of initial state geometry in shaping final state particle distributions in heavy-ion collisions?
• RQ4 How can ATLAS’s detector capabilities be optimized for high-precision measurements of nuclear collisions?
• RQ5 What are the expected yields and kinematic distributions of high-transverse-momentum particles in central Pb-Pb events?

Key findings

• The ATLAS detector is well-suited for studying ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions due to its excellent tracking, calorimetry, and forward coverage.
• The proposed program enables the measurement of jet quenching, elliptic flow, and particle production at high transverse momentum.
• Centrality selection using forward calorimeters allows for precise characterization of collision geometry and energy density.
• The Letter of Intent outlines a viable path for U.S. participation in LHC nuclear physics, with strong scientific and technical foundations.
• The program is designed to probe the QCD phase diagram and search for signatures of deconfined quark-gluon matter.
• The collaboration anticipates that ATLAS will achieve sensitivity to collective phenomena and parton energy loss in heavy-ion collisions at LHC energies.