Towards an optimally sensitive temperature probe in heavy-ion collisions

Abstract

The high-precision heavy quarkonium data from LHC Run 2 and the ongoing Run 3 provide a unique window into the properties of hot nuclear matter and the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). To make full use of this data, it is crucial to go beyond traditional observables such as the nuclear modification factor 𝑅𝐴𝐴 and elliptic flow 𝑣2, and instead develop new probes that are more directly sensitive to the characteristics of the medium. We adopt the open quantum systems perspective for in-medium quarkonium and take inspiration from cold atom metrology techniques to construct observables with optimal sensitivity to specific QGP parameters. Focusing on the bulk temperature, we develop such optimal observables based on the Caldeira-Leggett master equation as a simplified setup, with the goal of extending it to a full Quantum Brownian Motion Lindblad equation.