Heavy ion physics at CMS and ATLAS: hard probes

Abstract

Hard probes are indispensable tools to study the hot and dense quark-gluon matter created in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. These probes are created in the collision itself with a small cross section, and they serve as indicators of various properties of the medium, such as temperature, viscosity, energy density, transport coefficients. Hard probes measured by the CMS and ATLAS experiments at the LHC include highly energetic jets and charged particles, quarkonium states, and electroweak gauge bosons. An overview of those recent experimental results will be given that represent the path towards high-precision measurements, even in the challenging, high-multiplicity environment created by colliding heavy ions.