Thermalization of heavy quarks in the quark-gluon plasma

Hendrik van Hees and Ralf Rapp
Phys. Rev. C 71, 034907 – Published 25 March 2005

Abstract

Charm- and bottom-quark rescattering in a quark-gluon plasma (QGP) is investigated with the objective of assessing the approach toward thermalization. Employing a Fokker-Planck equation to approximate the collision integral of the Boltzmann equation we augment earlier studies based on perturbative parton cross sections by introducing resonant heavy-light quark interactions. The latter are motivated by recent QCD lattice calculations that indicate the presence of “hadronic” states in the QGP. We model these states by colorless (pseudo-) scalar and (axial-) vector D and B mesons within a heavy-quark effective theory framework. We find that the presence of these resonances at moderate QGP temperatures substantially accelerates the kinetic equilibration of c quarks as compared to using perturbative interactions. We also comment on consequences for D-meson observables in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 10 December 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.71.034907

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Hendrik van Hees and Ralf Rapp

  • Cyclotron Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3366

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 71, Iss. 3 — March 2005

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review C

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×