Characterizing nuclear modification effects in high-energy O-O collisions at energies available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider: A transport model perspective

Abstract

The present work focuses on oxygen-oxygen (O-O) collisions, which are planned at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Oxygen, being a doubly magic number nucleus, has some very unique features. This study attempts to probe the exotic state of QCD matter in O-O collisions. Additionally, the role of different nuclear density profiles in governing the final-state dynamics in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions is also explored. Using a multiphase transport model, we obtain the nuclear modification factor (RAA) for all charged hadrons and identified particles for O-O collisions at sNN = 7 TeV. Furthermore, we investigate the behavior of RAA as a function of transverse momentum (pT) for three centralities (most central, mid-central, and peripheral) considering both α-cluster and Woods-Saxon nuclear density profiles. We also extend this work to study the rapidity dependence of RAA for all charged hadrons. To better understand our findings of O-O collisions, the results are confronted with the available data of RAA for Pb-Pb collisions. The present study sheds light on particle production mechanisms, emphasizing factors influencing particle yield from precollision to postcollision stages in the context of O-O collisions. © 2024 authors. Published by the American Physical Society.