Impact of momentum-space anisotropy on heavy quark dynamics in a QGP medium

Abstract

Momentum space anisotropy present in the quark and gluon distribution functions in relativistic heavy ion collisions induces Chromo-Weibel instability in the hot QCD medium created therein. The impact of the Chromo-Weibel instability on the dynamics of a heavy-quark (HQ) traversing in the QGP medium is investigated within the framework of kinetic theory by studying the momentum and temperature behavior of HQ drag and diffusion coefficients. The physics of anisotropy is captured in an effective Vlasov term in the transport equation. The effects of the instability are handled by making a relation with the phenomenologically known jet quenching parameter in RHIC and LHC. Interestingly, the presence of instability significantly affect the temperature and momentum dependences of the HQ drag and diffusion coefficients. These results may have appreciable impact on the experimental observables such as, the nuclear suppression factor, $R_{AA}(p_T)$, and the elliptic flow, $v_2(p_T)$, of heavy mesons in heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC energies which is a matter of future investigation.