$D\overline{D}$ momentum correlations versus relative azimuth as a sensitive probe for thermalization

Abstract

In high-energy nuclear collisions at LHC, where a QGP might be created, the degree of thermalization at the partonic level is a key issue. Due to their large mass, heavy quarks are a powerful tool to probe thermalization. We propose to measure azimuthal correlations of heavy-quark hadrons and their decay products. Changes or even the complete absence of these initially existing azimuthal correlations in $Pb-Pb$ collisions might indicate thermalization at the partonic level. We present studies with PYTHIA for $p-p$ collisions at 14 TeV using the two-particle transverse momentum correlator ${<\overline{\Delta}p_{t,1}\overline{\Delta}p_{t,2}>}$ as a sensitive measure of potential changes in these azimuthal correlations. Contributions from transverse radial flow are estimated.