2021/07/23 by D. Everett, Everett, Derek
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #High-Energy Particle Collisions Research #Nuclear Theory (nucl-th) #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2107.11362
openalex publication_date 2021/07/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The study of heavy-ion collisions presents a challenge to both theoretical and experimental nuclear physics. Due to the extremely short lifetime and small size of the collision system, disentangling information provided by experimental observables and progress in physical insight requires the careful application of plausible reasoning. I apply a program of statistical methodologies, primarily Bayesian, to quantify properties of the medium in specific models, as well as compare and criticize differing models of the system. Of particular interest are estimations of the specific shear and bulk viscosities, where we find that information carried by the experimental data is still limited. In particular we find a large sensitivity to prior assumptions at high temperatures. Moreover, sensitivities to model assumptions are present at low temperatures, and this source of model uncertainty is propagated with model averaging and model mixing.