High transverse momentum quarkonium production and dissociation in heavy ion collisions

We calculate the yields of quarkonia in heavy ion collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as a function of their transverse momentum. Based upon nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics, our results include both color-singlet and color-octet contributions and feed-down effects from excited states. In reactions with ultrarelativistic nuclei, we focus on the consistent implementation of dynamically calculated nuclear matter effects, such as coherent power corrections, cold nuclear matter energy loss, and the Cronin effect in the initial state. In the final state, we consider radiative energy loss for the color-octet state and collisional dissociation of quarkonia as they traverse through the QGP. Theoretical results are presented for J/psi and gamma and compared to experimental data where applicable. At RHIC, a good description of the high-p(T) J/psi modification observed in central Cu + Cu and Au + Au collisions can be achieved within the model uncertainties. We find that measurements of J/psi yields in proton-nucleus reactions are needed to constrain the magnitude of cold nuclear matter effects. At the LHC, a good description of the experimental data can be achieved only in midcentral and peripheral Pb + Pb collisions. The large fivefold suppression of prompt J/psi in the most central nuclear reactions may indicate for the first time possible thermal effects at the level of the quarkonium wave function at large transverse momenta. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.87.044905