Pion, Kaon, and Proton Production in Jet-Hadron Correlations from Pb-Pb Collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=5.02 TeV Using the ALICE Detector

Author

Patrick J. Steffanic, University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleFollow

Date of Award

8-2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Physics

Major Professor

Christine Nattrass

Committee Members

Christine Nattrass, Miguel Madurga, Nadia Fomin, Hairong Xi

Abstract

Interactions between hard probes and the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) are a rich probe of the dynamics of the QGP. In this thesis, we study the production of pions, kaons and protons from jet-hadron correlations in 0-10% and 30-50% central Pb-Pb collisions at √s_NN = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. We focus our studies on low momentum jets with 20 GeV/c < p_T^jet < 40 GeV/c using associated hadrons with 1 GeV/c < p_T^assoc. < 10 GeV/c. The yields of associate pions, kaons and protons were measured in the near-side and away-side regions of the jet-hadron correlation function, and the baryon to meson and strange to non-strange meson ratios were computed. This is the first measurement of the strange to non-strange meson ratio for hadrons associated with a jet. We find the baryon to meson ratio for associated hadrons in Pb-Pb collisions to be within uncertainty of the ratio for inclusive charged hadrons in proton-proton collisions. The strange to non-strange meson ratio for associated hadrons in Pb-Pb collisions shows strong enhancement at intermediate p_T^assoc. relative to the ratio for inclusive charged hadrons in proton-proton collisions, with a hint of enhancement over the ratio for inclusive charged hadrons in Pb-Pb collisions. We find that the enhancement is larger for hadrons associated with the away-side region relative to those associated with the near-side region, and that the effect is larger for 0-10% central collisions than for 30-50% central collisions. These findings suggest that the strangeness enhancement of associated hadrons is driven by interactions between the jet and the medium, and may provide insight into the path-length dependence of jet-medium interactions in heavy-ion collisions. We hope that future comparisons to vi simulations and other measurements will provide further insight into this unexpected enhancement.

Recommended Citation

Steffanic, Patrick J., "Pion, Kaon, and Proton Production in Jet-Hadron Correlations from Pb-Pb Collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=5.02 TeV Using the ALICE Detector. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2024.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/10421