Heavy-quarkonium potential with input from lattice gauge theory

In this dissertation we study potential models incorporating a nonperturbative propagator obtained from lattice simulations of a pure gauge theory. Initially we review general aspects of gauge theories, the principles of the lattice formulation of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and some properties of heavy quarkonia, i.e. bound states of a heavy quark and its antiquark. As an illustration of Monte Carlo simulations of lattice models, we present applications in the case of the harmonic oscillator and SU(2) gauge theory. We then study the effect of using a gluon propagator from lattice simulations of pure SU(2) theory as an input in a potential model for the description of quarkonium, in the case of bottomonium and charmonium. We use, in both cases, a numerical approach to evaluate masses of quarkonium states. The resulting spectra are compared to calculations using the Coulomb plus linear (or Cornell) potential.Comment: 151 pages, 21 figures, Dissertation presented to the Graduate Program in Physics at the Instituto de F\'isica de S\~ao Carlos, Universidade de S\~ao Paulo to obtain the degree of Master of Science. Concentration area: Fundamental Physics. Advisor: Prof. Dr. Tereza Cristina da Rocha Mende

{\Lambda} polarization from thermalized jet energy

We examine the formation of vortical "smoke rings" as a result of thermalization of energy lost by a jet. We simulate the formation and evolution of these rings using hydrodynamics and define an observable that allows to probe this phenomenon experimentally. We argue that observation of vorticity associated with jets would be an experimental confirmation of the thermalization of the energy lost by quenched jets, and also a probe of shear viscosity.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Modelo de superfluido de duas componentes de Landau e o plasma de quarks e gluons

In this thesis we aim to test if Landau\'s two-component superfluid model is compatible with the quark-gluon-plasma description. We follow the test proposed by Chernodub et. al. [Two-component liquid model for the quark-gluon plasma. Theor. Math. Phys., v. 170, p. 211–216, 2012]. We start by reviewing the building process of a field theory with gauge symmetries and discussing the conservation laws associated to the theory’s symmetries. We explore the thermodynamic approach to quantum theory and the interesting fact that, when combined with a field theory, the path-integral formulation for quantum field theories emerges naturally. We also present the necessity of introducing a momentum cutoff into the theory and show that embedding space-time on a lattice is a way to introduce this cutoff and renormalize the theory. As a bonus, this also allows the numerical and non-perturbative evaluation of observables. We overview the phenomenological aspects of relativistic heavy-ion collisions and Landau’s two-component model for superfluids, along with a quantum-field-theory motivation for it, and explain details of the test proposed by Chernodub et. al.. Lastly, we show the implementation details of our simulation along with results. We do not see evidence that the proposed superfluid model is able to describe the plasma. We speculate that this might be caused by the absence of fermions in our simulations.Nesta tese nosso objetivo é testar se o modelo de Landau de duas componentes para superfluidos é compatível com a descrição do plasma de quarks e glúons. Seguimos o teste proposto por Chernodub et. al. [Two-component liquid model for the quark-gluon plasma. Theor. Math. Phys., v. 170, p. 211–216, 2012]. Começamos revisando o processo de construção de uma teoria de campo com simetria de gauge e discutindo as leis de conservação associadas às simetrias da teoria. Exploramos a abordagem termodinâmica para teoria quântica e o interessante fato de que, quando combinada com uma teoria de campo, a formulação de integrais de trajetória para teorias quânticas de campo emerge naturalmente. Também apresentamos a necessidade de se introduzir um corte de momento na teoria, e mostramos que embutir o espaço-tempo em uma rede é um meio de introduzir o corte na teoria e renormalizá-la. Como um bônus, isso também permite o cálculo numérico e não-perturbativo de observáveis. Apresentamos um panorama dos aspectos fenomenológicos da colisão de íons pesados relativísticos e o modelo de duas componentes de Landau para superfluidos, bem como uma motivação de teoria quântica de campo para ele, e explicamos detalhes do teste proposto por Chernodub et. al.. Por fim, mostramos os detalhes de nossa implementação juntamente com nossos resultados. Não vemos evidência de que o modelo de superfluidod proposto seja capaz de descrever o plasma. Nós especulamos que isto possa ser causado pela ausência de férmions em nossas simulações

Cumulants of conserved charges in hydrodynamic simulations

We introduce a fast and simple method of computing cumulants of net-proton or net-charge fluctuations in event-by-event hydrodynamic simulations of heavy-ion collisions. One evaluates the mean numbers of particles in every hydrodynamic event. Cumulants are then expressed as a function of these mean numbers. We implement the corrections due to global conservation laws. The method is tested using ideal hydrodynamic simulations of Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ AGeV with the NeXSPheRIO code. Results are in good agreement with experimental data on net-proton and net-charge fluctuations by the STAR collaboration