High-momentum charmonium production in nucleus-nucleus collisions

The unstable intermediate forms of matter - composed of quarks and gluons - created when two atomic nuclei collide, are yet to be completely understood. The rapid decay of heavy particles from such collisions make them difficult to investigate.

This project aims to develop a model for one of such heavy particles - charmonium - produced in dense particle collisions at extremely high energies.

The proposed model will be the first of its kind and will provide an overarching understanding of the sources of heavy quarks in hot and dense environments.

Similar to the oldest form of matter - the Quark Gluon Plasma, formed right after the Big Bang - such high-energy and extreme density environment can also be formed in particle collisions at colliders.

Since 2010, it has been a debate in the heavy-ion community on whether such states are formed in both proton-proton and ion-ion collisions.

There are physical observables that can highlight the common denominator in these collision systems - charmonium and jets are two of those.

This project will investigate charmonium behaviour in dense systems and deepen our understanding of hot and dense environments via the properties of charmonium in high-energy regimes.The project is planned for three years, starting with a two-year stay at the University of Heidelberg and the last year at Lund University.

The host at Heidelberg is an expert in hadron production in dense environments, while the host at Lund is an expert in jets.