Searching for enhancement in coalescence of in-jet (anti-)deuterons in proton-proton collisions

Abstract

Recent measurements from ALICE report that $``$in-jet'' nucleons carry a higher probability of forming a deuteron via coalescence than the nucleons from the underlying event (UE). This study makes use of an event shape classifier to separate the $``$in-jet'' deuterons and the deuterons in the UE produced in high multiplicity proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV. Event shape variables such as transverse spherocity allow the categorization of hard and soft components of an event, which can be divided into two respective classes; $``$jetty'' and $``$isotropic''. The $``$jetty'' deuterons minus the contribution of the deuterons from the $``$isotropic'' event are taken as $``$in-jet'' deuterons, and the coalescence mechanism is tested. The coalescence is performed with a Wigner function formalism, augmented as an afterburner to \textsc{pythia}8. The possible enhancement of the coalescence probability of $``$in-jet'' deuterons is investigated by calculating the coalescence parameter ($B_{2}$) in different spherocity classes in high-multiplicity $pp$ collisions.