Open Charm Production in $p + p$ and Pb + Pb collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

V. Topor Pop, M. Gyulassy, J. Barrette, C. Gale, M. Petrovici

Published 2013-06-04, updated 2013-12-06Version 2

Effects of strong longitudinal colour electric fields (SCF), shadowing, and quenching on the open prompt charm mesons (D$^0$, D$^+$, D$^{*+}$, D${_s}{^+}$) production in central Pb + Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV are investigated within the framework of the {\small HIJING/B\=B v2.0} model. We compute the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm PbPb}^{\rm D}$, and show that the above nuclear effects constitute important dynamical mechanisms in the description of experimental data. The strength of colour fields (as characterized by the string tension $\kappa$), partonic energy loss and jet quenching process lead to a suppression factor consistent with recent published data. Predictions for future beauty mesons measurements have been included. Ratios of strange to non-strange prompt charm mesons in central Pb + Pb and minimum bias (MB) $ p + p$ collisions at 2.76 TeV are also discussed. Minimum bias $p + p$ collisions which constitute theoretical baseline in our calculations are studied at the centre of mass energies $\sqrt{s}$ = 2.76 TeV and 7 TeV.