- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review Letters

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Probing the Quark-Gluon Plasma through pT-Differential Radial Flow of Heavy Quarks

Maria Lucia Sambataro1,2,*, Salvatore Plumari1,2,†, Santosh K. Das3,‡, and Vincenzo Greco1,2,§

  • *Contact author: sambataro@lns.infn.it
  • †Contact author: salvatore.plumari@dfa.unict.it
  • ‡Contact author: santosh@iitgoa.ac.in
  • §Contact author: greco@lns.infn.it
PDF

Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 212302 – Published 27 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/v4mq-n7vb

Abstract

We introduce the pT-differential radial flow v0(pT) in the heavy-quark sector. Within an event-by-event Langevin framework, we show that this observable exhibits a strong sensitivity to the heavy quark-bulk interaction. It provides a powerful and novel tool to constrain the transport coefficients of heavy quarks in the quark-gluon plasma and, more generally, to assess the strength of the interaction of a Brownian particle in an expanding bulk medium. The results further indicate that heavy quarks exhibit collective behavior driven by the isotropic expansion of the quark-gluon plasma in heavy-ion collisions and, at low pT, it offers a marked signature of the heavy-quark hadronization mechanism.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (77)

  1. E. V. Shuryak, Nucl. Phys. A750, 64 (2005).
  2. B. V. Jacak and B. Muller, Science 337, 310 (2012).
  3. B. Schenke, C. Shen, and D. Teaney, Phys. Rev. C 102, 034905 (2020).
  4. T. Parida, R. Samanta, and J.-Y. Ollitrault, Phys. Lett. B 857, 138985 (2024).
  5. G. Aad et al. (ATLAS Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 032301 (2026).
  6. S. Acharya et al. (ALICE Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 032302 (2026).
  7. S. Saha, R. Singh, and B. Mohanty, Phys. Rev. C 112, 024902 (2025).
  8. L. Du, Phys. Rev. C 113, 014901 (2026).
  9. A. Beraudo et al., Nucl. Phys. A979, 21 (2018).
  10. X. Dong and V. Greco, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 104, 97 (2019).
  11. S. K. Das, J. M. Torres-Rincon, and R. Rapp, Phys. Rep. 1129–1131, 1 (2025).
  12. H. van Hees, M. Mannarelli, V. Greco, and R. Rapp, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 192301 (2008).
  13. G. D. Moore and D. Teaney, Phys. Rev. C 71, 064904 (2005).
  14. P. B. Gossiaux and J. Aichelin, Phys. Rev. C 78, 014904 (2008).
  15. J. Uphoff, O. Fochler, Z. Xu, and C. Greiner, Phys. Lett. B 717, 430 (2012).
  16. T. Lang, H. van Hees, J. Steinheimer, G. Inghirami, and M. Bleicher, Phys. Rev. C 93, 014901 (2016).
  17. W. M. Alberico, A. Beraudo, A. De Pace, A. Molinari, M. Monteno, M. Nardi, and F. Prino, Eur. Phys. J. C 71, 1666 (2011).
  18. S. K. Das, F. Scardina, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Phys. Rev. C 90, 044901 (2014).
  19. S. K. Das, F. Scardina, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Phys. Lett. B 747, 260 (2015).
  20. T. Song, H. Berrehrah, D. Cabrera, J. M. Torres-Rincon, L. Tolos, W. Cassing, and E. Bratkovskaya, Phys. Rev. C 92, 014910 (2015).
  21. T. Song, H. Berrehrah, D. Cabrera, W. Cassing, and E. Bratkovskaya, Phys. Rev. C 93, 034906 (2016).
  22. S. Cao, T. Luo, G.-Y. Qin, and X.-N. Wang, Phys. Rev. C 94, 014909 (2016).
  23. S. Cao et al., Phys. Rev. C 99, 054907 (2019).
  24. R. Katz, C. A. G. Prado, J. Noronha-Hostler, and A. A. P. Suaide, Phys. Rev. C 102, 041901 (2020).
  25. S. Plumari, G. Coci, V. Minissale, S. K. Das, Y. Sun, and V. Greco, Phys. Lett. B 805, 135460 (2020).
  26. A. Beraudo, A. De Pace, M. Monteno, M. Nardi, and F. Prino, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2021) 279.
  27. Z. Tang, S. Mukherjee, P. Petreczky, and R. Rapp, Eur. Phys. J. A 60, 92 (2024).
  28. J. Zhao, J. Aichelin, P. B. Gossiaux, and K. Werner, Phys. Rev. C 111, 014907 (2025).
  29. M. Singh, M. Kurian, B. Schenke, S. Jeon, and C. Gale, Phys. Rev. C 113, 024904 (2026).
  30. S. Acharya et al. (ALICE Collaboration), J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2022) 174.
  31. L. Adamczyk et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 212301 (2017).
  32. S. Acharya et al. (ALICE Collaboration), Phys. Lett. B 793, 212 (2019).
  33. J. Adam et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 172301 (2020).
  34. S. K. Das, S. Plumari, S. Chatterjee, J. Alam, F. Scardina, and V. Greco, Phys. Lett. B 768, 260 (2017).
  35. L. Oliva, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2021) 034.
  36. D. Banerjee, S. Datta, R. Gavai, and P. Majumdar, Phys. Rev. D 85, 014510 (2012).
  37. O. Kaczmarek, Nucl. Phys. A931, 633 (2014).
  38. A. Francis, O. Kaczmarek, M. Laine, T. Neuhaus, and H. Ohno, Phys. Rev. D 92, 116003 (2015).
  39. N. Brambilla, V. Leino, P. Petreczky, and A. Vairo, Phys. Rev. D 102, 074503 (2020).
  40. L. Altenkort, D. de la Cruz, O. Kaczmarek, R. Larsen, G. D. Moore, S. Mukherjee, P. Petreczky, H.-T. Shu, and S. Stendebach (HotQCD Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 051902 (2024).
  41. L. Altenkort, O. Kaczmarek, R. Larsen, S. Mukherjee, P. Petreczky, H.-T. Shu, and S. Stendebach (HotQCD Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 231902 (2023).
  42. D. Bollweg, J. L. Dasilva Golán, O. Kaczmarek, R. N. Larsen, G. D. Moore, S. Mukherjee, P. Petreczky, H.-T. Shu, S. Stendebach, and J. H. Weber (HotQCD Collaboration), J. High Energy Phys. 09 (2025) 180.
  43. S. Plumari, A. Puglisi, F. Scardina, and V. Greco, Phys. Rev. C 86, 054902 (2012).
  44. F. Scardina, M. Colonna, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Phys. Lett. B 724, 296 (2013).
  45. A. Puglisi, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Phys. Rev. D 90, 114009 (2014).
  46. F. Scardina, D. Perricone, S. Plumari, M. Ruggieri, and V. Greco, Phys. Rev. C 90, 054904 (2014).
  47. S. Plumari, G. L. Guardo, V. Greco, and J.-Y. Ollitrault, Nucl. Phys. A941, 87 (2015).
  48. S. Plumari, G. L. Guardo, F. Scardina, and V. Greco, Phys. Rev. C 92, 054902 (2015).
  49. F. Scardina, S. K. Das, V. Minissale, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Phys. Rev. C 96, 044905 (2017).
  50. M. L. Sambataro, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Eur. Phys. J. C 80, 1140 (2020).
  51. S. Plumari, Eur. Phys. J. C 79, 2 (2019).
  52. Y. Sun, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Eur. Phys. J. C 80, 16 (2020).
  53. M. L. Sambataro, V. Minissale, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Phys. Lett. B 872, 140049 (2026).
  54. M. L. Sambataro, Y. Sun, V. Minissale, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Eur. Phys. J. C 82, 833 (2022).
  55. M. L. Sambataro, V. Minissale, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Phys. Lett. B 849, 138480 (2024).
  56. J. Xu, J. Liao, and M. Gyulassy, J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2016) 169.
  57. G. S. Denicol, H. Niemi, E. Molnar, and D. H. Rischke, Phys. Rev. D 85, 114047 (2012).
  58. A. Gabbana, S. Plumari, G. Galesi, V. Greco, D. Simeoni, S. Succi, and R. Tripiccione, Phys. Rev. C 101, 064904 (2020).
  59. V. Nugara, S. Plumari, L. Oliva, and V. Greco, Eur. Phys. J. C 84, 861 (2024).
  60. M. Ruggieri, F. Scardina, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Phys. Rev. C 89, 054914 (2014).
  61. M. Ruggieri, F. Scardina, S. Plumari, and V. Greco, Phys. Lett. B 727, 177–181 (2013).
  62. M. Cacciari, S. Frixione, N. Houdeau, M. L. Mangano, P. Nason, and G. Ridolfi, J. High Energy Phys. 10 (2012) 137.
  63. S. Plumari, V. Minissale, S. K. Das, G. Coci, and V. Greco, Eur. Phys. J. C 78, 348 (2018).
  64. V. Minissale, S. Plumari, Y. Sun, and V. Greco, Eur. Phys. J. C 84, 228 (2024).
  65. V. Minissale, F. Scardina, and V. Greco, Phys. Rev. C 92, 054904 (2015).
  66. S. Cao, G.-Y. Qin, and S. A. Bass, Phys. Rev. C 92, 024907 (2015).
  67. P. B. Gossiaux, R. Bierkandt, and J. Aichelin, Phys. Rev. C 79, 044906 (2009).
  68. Y. Oh, C. M. Ko, S. H. Lee, and S. Yasui, Phys. Rev. C 79, 044905 (2009).
  69. V. Minissale, V. Greco, and S. Plumari, Phys. Lett. B 860, 139190 (2025).
  70. R. Rapp and H. van Hees, arXiv:0803.0901.
  71. O. Kaczmarek and F. Zantow, Phys. Rev. D 71, 114510 (2005).
  72. M. L. Sambataro, V. Greco, G. Parisi, and S. Plumari, Eur. Phys. J. C 84, 881 (2024).
  73. V. Greco and C. M. Ko, Phys. Rev. C 70, 024901 (2004).
  74. R. J. Fries, V. Greco, and P. Sorensen, Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 58, 177 (2008).
  75. R. J. Fries, V. Greco, and R. Rapp, arXiv:2506.24023.
  76. V. Greco, C. M. Ko, and P. Levai, Phys. Rev. C 68, 034904 (2003).
  77. P. F. Kolb, L.-W. Chen, V. Greco, and C. M. Ko, Phys. Rev. C 69, 051901 (2004).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 212302– Published 27 May, 2026
  • Received 22 October 2025
  • Revised 20 April 2026
  • Accepted 30 April 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation