$$J/\psi $$ polarization in relativistic heavy ion collisions

Abstract Understanding the polarization property of $$J/\psi $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>J</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>ψ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> is critical to constrain its production mechanism. In addition, the polarization of $$J/\psi $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>J</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>ψ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> can reveal the impact of strong electromagnetic and vorticity fields in relativistic heavy ion collisions. In this study, we analyzed the yield and polarization of $$J/\psi $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>J</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>ψ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> in relativistic heavy ion collisions at different centrality and transverse momentum regions, using three different reference frames: the Collins–Soper frame, the helicity frame, and the event plane frame. The polarization of initially produced $$J/\psi $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>J</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>ψ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> is determined by the NRQCD calculation and is similar to that of pp collisions. However, both unpolarization and transverse polarization are considered for the regenerated $$J/\psi $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>J</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>ψ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . Our results indicate that the polarization at high $$p_T$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mi>T</mml:mi> </mml:msub> </mml:math> is similar to that observed in pp collisions. However, at low $$p_T$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mi>T</mml:mi> </mml:msub> </mml:math> , where regenerated $$J/\psi $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>J</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>ψ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> dominates, it is likely that the polarized charm quarks in the rotational QGP medium are responsible for this phenomenon. Our study supplies a baseline for future research on the effects of strong electromagnetic and vorticity fields on $$J/\psi $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>J</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>ψ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> polarization.