Jets, bulk matter, and their interaction in heavy ion collisions at the LHC

Abstract

We discuss a theoretical scheme that accounts for bulk matter, jets, and the interaction between the two. The physical picture of our approach is the following: Initial hard scatterings result in mainly longitudinal flux tubes, with transversely moving pieces carrying the pt of the partons from hard scatterings. These flux tubes constitute eventually both bulk matter (which thermalizes, flows, and finally hadronizes) and jets, according to some criteria based on partonic energy loss. High energy flux tube segments will leave the fluid, providing jet hadrons via the usual Schwinger mechanism of flux-tube breaking caused by quark-antiquark production. But the jets may also be produced at the freeze-out surface. Here we assume that the quark-antiquark needed for the flux tube breaking is provided by the fluid, with properties (momentum, flavor) determined by the fluid rather than the Schwinger mechanism. Considering transverse fluid velocities up to 0.7c, and thermal parton momentum distributions, one may get a "push" of a couple of GeV to be added to the transverse momentum of the string segment. This will be a crucial effect for intermediate pt jet hadrons.