title: Heavy quark energy loss in high multiplicity proton-proton collisions at the LHC.
abstract: One of the most promising probes to study deconfined matter created in high energy nuclear collisions is the energy loss of (heavy) quarks. It has been shown in experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider that even charm and bottom quarks, despite their high mass, experience a remarkable medium suppression in the quark gluon plasma. In this exploratory investigation we study the energy loss of heavy quarks in high multiplicity proton-proton collisions at LHC energies. Although the colliding systems are smaller than compared to those at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (p+p vs Au+Au), the higher energy might lead to multiplicities comparable to Cu+Cu collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The interaction of charm quarks with this environment gives rise to a non-negligible suppression of high momentum heavy quarks in elementary collisions.
authors.affiliation: SUBATECH, Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et des Technologies Associées, University of Nantes-IN2P3/CNRS-Ecole des Mines de Nantes, 4 rue Alfred Kastler, F-44072 Nantes Cedex 03, France.
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: Pol Bernard
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Gossiaux
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aichelin