Parton Saturation Approach in Heavy Quark Production at High Energies

Abstract

The high parton density regime of the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), where the physics of parton saturation is expected to be dominant, is briefly discussed. Some phenomenological aspects of saturation are described, mainly focusing on possible signatures of the non-linear QCD dynamics in the heavy quark production in electron-proton/nucleus collisions. Implications of these effects in the heavy quark production in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions are also presented.