Thesis

Probing Quark Gluon Plasma with Heavy Flavour Jets

• Call:

  IDPASC Portugal - PHD Programme 2019

• Academic Year:

  2019 / 2020

• Domain:

  Experimental Particle Physics

• Supervisor:

  Helena Santos

• Co-Supervisor:

  Patricia Conde Muino

• Institution:

  Faculdade de Ciências - Universidade de Lisboa

• Host Institution:

  Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas

• Abstract:

  Ultra-relativistic heavy-ion (HI) collisions at LHC energies are performed in order to produce strongly interacting QCD matter at extreme temperatures and densities. In such conditions, matter undergoes a phase transition from ordinary hadronic matter to a plasma of quarks and gluons, the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). High transverse momentum quarks and gluons generated by hard-scattering processes constitute powerful probes of the QGP; partons may lose energy in interactions or through induced gluon radiation while traversing the QCD medium, providing sensitivity to its transport properties. This phenomenon of energy loss is commonly referred to as “jet quenching” and its expected signatures are the modifications of the jet production at a given transverse momentum and of fragmentation functions. In particular, the study of heavy flavour jet production contributes to a deeper understanding of the QGP produced at LHC, namely in what regards energy loss mechanisms. Because the heavy quark mass inhibits the medium-induced gluon radiation it is expected that the energy loss (el) of the different quark flavours follows the pattern elb < elc < elq, where the subscripts b, c and q stand for bottom, charm and light (up, down or strange) quarks respectively. Hence, the comparison with the light jets production will be valuable to the comprehension of the energy loss nature. This topic is crucial for the ATLAS/LHC HI Program and special efforts are expected for the Run 3 of the LHC.