Search for Lambda hyperon polarization around jets at the LHC

• Grant number: 25/01122-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2030
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Elementary Particle Physics and Fields
• Principal Investigator: Jun Takahashi
• Grantee: Cicero Domenico Muncinelli
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/04867-2 - High energy physics and instrumentation with the LHC-CERN, AP.ESP

Abstract

Direct PhD project in the field of particle physics phenomenology and high-energy nuclear physics to be developed within the Experimental Hadronic Physics group (HadrEx) at Unicamp. The overall objective of this project is to carry out a comprehensive analysis within the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The project aims to study the formation of vortices inside the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) due to the thermalization of partons (particle jets) in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at the LHC. The analysis will rely on a new observable of Lambda hyperon polarization induced by vortices, which has already been studied in previous Monte Carlo simulation work carried out by the HadrEx group.The theoretical prediction of this observable's signature will be compared with experimental results from the LHC in a novel analysis in the field. Although several signatures indicate the formation of QGP in heavy-ion collisions, none of them currently provides unequivocal evidence of its formation. Because this observable is sensitive to the presence of vortices in the QGP - an inherently hydrodynamic phenomenon - it has the potential to offer the first unique evidence of QGP formation, provided the experimental results match the theoretical predictions. Therefore, the project is expected to contribute to the field and thus lead to presentations at scientific conferences and publications in relevant journals.Finally, the project involves direct participation in the ALICE collaboration, including the development of a physics analysis with potentially significant results, participation in data-taking, and interaction with international collaborators. Throughout the project, the student will acquire fundamental knowledge in the field, as well as training in data analysis techniques and Monte Carlo simulations, following the standards established by the ALICE collaboration.