Diffusion wake: a distinctive consequence of the Mach-cone wake induced by supersonic jets in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

Abstract

In this Research Perspective, we briefly review the diffusion wake, a distinctive consequence of the Mach-cone wake induced by the supersonic jets in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The diffusion wake depletes soft hadrons in the direction opposite to the propagating jet. According to coupled transport and hydrodynamic simulations, a valley in the 2-dimensional jet-hadron correlation in azimuthal angle and rapidity arises on the top of the multiple parton interaction ridge as an unambiguous signal of the diffusion wake induced by $γ$-jets in heavy-ion collisions. In dijet events with a finite rapidity gap, the rapidity asymmetry of the jet-hadron correlation has been shown to be a robust signal of the diffusion wake. The same rapidity asymmetry can also be applied to $γ$-jet events and both are background free. Experimental measurements of these signals can provide valuable insights into the properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) formed in high-energy heavy-ion collisions.