Paper: Longitudinal flow-plane decorrelation with multiple-plane cumulants from STAR

Title:

Longitudinal flow-plane decorrelation with multiple-plane cumulants from STAR

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Abstract:

The measurements of the anisotropic flow-planes (\Psi_{n}) variations with rapidity, commonly known as flow-plane decorrelation, provide important insights towards understanding of the initial conditions of the produced matter in heavy-ion collisions. In this paper, we report first measurements of a novel cumulant observable $T_{n}\{ba;dc\}=\langle\langle\sin[n(\Psi^{b}_{n}-\Psi^{a}_{n})]\sin[n(\Psi^{d}_{n}-\Psi^{c}_{n})]\rangle\rangle$ for the study of the elliptic and triangular flow planes (i.e.~$n=2$ and $3$)
decorrelations using the STAR experiment datasets of Au+Au and isobar (Ru+Ru, Zr+Zr) collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$\xspace = 200 GeV. The correlations of four flow-plane angles from backward ($\eta_{a}$), mid-($\eta_{b}$, $\eta_{c}$), and forward ($\eta_{d}$) rapidity regions are measured with the aim to probe the systematic longitudinal flow-plane (de)correlations over the wide rapidity range. In the mid-central collisions range of $5-30\%$ centrality, measured $T_{n}\{ba;dc\}$ values found to be very ``close-to-zero'' (slightly negative within $1-2$ sigmas) independent of the collisions system, favoring a picture of a ``random-walk'' variation of the flow-plane angles, with rapidity correlation length small compared to the rapidity region under study.  These measurements provide new information for establishing the pertinent decorrelation patterns present in the system and a quantitative estimate of a possible systematic variation of the anisotropic flow angles, such as ``twist'', between forward and backward rapidity regions, opening new possibilities for understanding the three-dimensional structure of the quark-gluon plasma created in the heavy-ion collision.
 
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Conclusion:

Four-plane correlator observable $T_{n}$ has been measured in addition to the factorization ratio, $r^{\Psi}_{n}(\eta)$, in isobar (Ru+Ru, Zr+Zr) and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV to check the longitudinal flow-plane decorrelation phenomena in heavy-ion collisions.
 
Negative but very close-to-zero decorrelation~i.e. $$T^{\Delta\Psi_{n}^{a\rightarrow b}*\Delta\Psi_{n}^{c\rightarrow d}}\sim\langle\Delta\Psi^{a\rightarrow b}_{n}*\Delta\Psi^{c\rightarrow d}_{n}\rangle$$ of the order of $10^{-2}$-$10^{-3}$ (for $n=2$, $3$), has been observed independent of the collisions system size in the mid-central collisions with $10-50\%$ centrality. The factorization ratio observable, on the other hand, yields comparatively higher decorrelation measurements that are close-to-unity~i.e.~$(r_{2}^{\Psi}-1)\sim4\%$ in the same $10-50\%$ centrality.

Observance of such a small close-to-zero %$T^{\Delta\Psi_{n}^{a\rightarrow b}*\Delta\Psi_{n}^{c\rightarrow d}}$
$T_{n}$ measurements with a comparatively larger close-to-unity factorization ratio measurements from the experimental data implies that the genuine longitudinal flow-plane decorrelation is happening on a much smaller scale favouring a picture of ``random-walk" variation of the flow-planes with $\eta$. In such a picture, one can think of large number of small rapidity steps ($\Delta\eta$), independent and uncorrelated, sandwiched together to constitute the overall $\eta-$range such that the azimuthal orientation of flow-planes at each individual step is randomly tilted by a small amount with respect to that at the previous step. Such a random-walk-like variation of $\Psi_{n}$'s among different rapidity steps eventually results in a zero expectation value for the overall tilt ($\langle\Delta\Psi_{n}\rangle$) with the variance (i.e.~$\Psi_{n}$ spread) linearly increasing with the step size ($\langle(\Delta\Psi_{n})^{2}\rangle\propto\Delta\eta$). 
 
Furthermore, in the ``random-walk" variation, for example if flow-plane randomly changes orientation say to the right or to the left in every step (say 0.2 or so) in rapidity, the factorization ratio observable would still be deviated from the unity but $T_{n}$ estimates a very close-to-zero value as there would be no consistent change occurring on the orientation of flow-planes along the rapidity. On the other hand, if there is a consistent change happening in the orientation of flow-planes (say there is some sort of physics driving such change) in going from backward to forward in rapidity then one would expect a non zero values for $T_{n}$ which would then correspond to the picture of ``monotonic" or ``C"-shape twist establishing the pertinent decorrelation patterns presented in the experimental data. 
 
Slight negative result observed for $T_{n}$ although it is very much consistent with zero is probably because the flow-planes at mid-rapidities (defined by TPCs) are slightly fluctuating with respect to the real reaction planes while that at forward and backward rapidities (defined either by EPDs or BBCs) are mostly fixed by the spectators. This could result in a (-)ve signal because both planes inside the TPC (i.e. at~$+\eta$ TPC and~$-\eta$ TPC) would be shifted in the same direction.

PA list:

Achyut Khanal, Takafumi Niida, Sergei A. Voloshin

Target Journal:

PRC

Paper Draft:

Current version: draft_dec01.pdf 
Previous: draft_aug16.pdf

Analysis Note:

Current version: note_dec01.pdf 
Previous: note_aug16.pdf

Response to GPC:

Response to first round of comments (on aug16 version) from GPC: Response_to_GPC_comments_on_aug16_version.pdf

Paper Figures:

Compiled PDF with all figs: figs_aug16.pdf

Related Presentations:

PWGC Preview Presentation on May 17, 2024: pwgcPreviewDecoMay17.pdfPWGC_Preview_Notes
PWGC Preview meeting recordings can be found here: /star/u/rksooraj/PAC/PWGCmeeting_recording/20240517.mp4

FCV Paper Proposal Presentation on March 6, 2024deco-paperProposalFCV.pdf
Update on the STAR collaboration meeting (Oct 17, 2023): 
deco_fall2023_collaboration_update.pdf
FCV update on Oct 4, 2023: deco-update-achyut-fcv.pdf
FCV update on June14, 2023: deco_for_star_fcv_achyut.pdf