Production of electrons from heavy flavor decays in proton-lead collisions measured with ALICE at the LHC

Author

Rebecca Michelle Scott, University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleFollow

Date of Award

5-2017

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Physics

Major Professor

Soren Sorensen

Committee Members

Kenneth Read, Christine Nattrass, Jeffrey Moersch

Abstract

This dissertation presents a measurement of the yield and cross section of electrons from heavy flavor decays at central rapidity in proton-lead collisions measured by the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) detector at the Large Hadron Collider. This analysis extends the transverse momentum reach of an earlier measurement in ALICE and the comparison is shown. The cross section of single electrons in proton-lead collisions is compared to the value expected in the absence of nuclear modification from proton-proton collisions. The cross section is well described by the perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics and no statistically significant alteration due to hot nuclear matter effects is observed. The results are also compared to other measurements of heavy flavor and collision systems.

Recommended Citation

Scott, Rebecca Michelle, "Production of electrons from heavy flavor decays in proton-lead collisions measured with ALICE at the LHC. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2017.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4495