An improved linear Boltzmann transport model for hadron and jet suppression in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions

Abstract

Jets are powerful tomographic probes of the quark–gluon plasma (QGP) created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. While the expanding landscape of jet observables reveals multiple aspects of jet-medium interactions, a precise and simultaneous description of the nuclear modification factors of hadrons and full jets remains challenging for current theoretical models. In this work, we present two key improvements to the linear Boltzmann transport (LBT) model to bridge this gap. First, instead of implementing in-medium parton transport after vacuum parton showers complete, we introduce a medium scale at which in-medium parton transport is inserted into the vacuum shower evolution, providing a more realistic description of parton–QGP interactions. Second, we incorporate color-flow information into the LBT model, enabling string connections between partons with configurations correlated to the medium-modified parton showers before hadronization. We demonstrate that both improvements alter the predicted ratio of hadron to jet quenching, leading to a satisfactory unified description of the nuclear modification factors of hadrons and jets with different flavors.