Thesis

Jetography in Heavy Ion Collisions

• Call:

  PT-CERN Call 2022/1

• Academic Year:

  2022

• Domain:

  Astroparticle Physics

• Supervisor:

  Liliana Apolinário

• Co-Supervisor:

  José Guilherme Milhano

• Institution:

  Instituto Superior Técnico (Universidade de Lisboa)

• Host Institution:

  Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas

• Abstract:

  Heavy-ion colliders provide ideal laboratories to explore Quantum Chromodynamics in extreme conditions, particularly the Quark-Gluon Plasma, a rapidly expanding, nearly perfect liquid that filled the early Universe. Due to its unique properties, it is the main object of study at ultra-relativistic heavy-ion colliders such as RHIC (BNL) and LHC (CERN). Jets – collimated sprays of hadrons with a common partonic origin – are produced concurrently with the collision. These objects traverse the extended medium, experiencing QGP-induced interactions (quenching), observed as modifications to jets’ initial energy and substructure. Spanning a wide range of scales, jets provide insight into QGP expansion. This proposal aims to study QGP evolution using jets, by extending current theoretical approaches to expanding media and constructing jet substructure observables sensitive to its time structure. This will provide constraints on existing hydrodynamical models and increased experimental control of heavy-ion data, essential steps towards a tomographic analysis of the medium.