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Probing azimuthal alignment in heavy-ion collisions: Clusterization effects

Aleksei Nikolskii1,2,*, Igor Lokhtin2,†, and Alexander Snigirev1,2,‡

  • *Contact author: alexn@theor.jinr.ru
  • †Contact author: lokhtin@www-hep.sinp.msu.ru
  • ‡Contact author: snigirevam@my.msu.ru
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 054004 – Published 3 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5v58-1k4v

Abstract

The influence of kinematic constraints and event selection on the emergence of the alignment phenomenon observed in cosmic-ray experiments is studied within the HYDJET++ model, which is widely used for simulating heavy-ion collisions. It is demonstrated that the high degree of alignment, previously identified for realistic values of the transverse momentum disbalance of the most energetic particles, is also observed at the level of the most energetic clusters. In high-multiplicity heavy-ion collision events, the clustering procedure plays a crucial role in resolving individual particle groups on the detection plane, allowing a more accurate characterization of alignment patterns. These results highlight the combined effects of cluster formation and momentum conservation in shaping the observed azimuthal correlations.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 054004– Published 3 March, 2026
  • Received 8 December 2025
  • Accepted 11 February 2026
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