Abstract
One of the most important experimental results for proton-proton scattering at the LHC is the observation of a so-called “ridge” structure in the two-particle correlation function versus the pseudorapidity difference and the azimuthal angle difference . One finds a strong correlation around , extended over many units in . We show that a hydrodynamical expansion based on flux tube initial conditions leads in a natural way to the observed structure. To get this result, we have to perform an event-by-event calculation, because the effect is due to statistical fluctuations of the initial conditions, together with a subsequent collective expansion. This is a strong point in favor of a fluidlike behavior even in scattering, where we have to deal with length scales of the order of 0.1 fm.
- Received 2 November 2010
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.122004
© 2011 American Physical Society
Synopsis
A melting pot of protons
Published 24 March 2011
Theorists uncover hints of a quark-gluon plasma in high-energy proton collisions at the LHC.
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