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arxiv: 2605.11765 · v1 · submitted 2026-05-12 · ✦ hep-ph · nucl-th

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In-medium Y(1S,2S,3S) suppression in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=5.02 TeV

G. Wolschin, J. Majonica

Pith reviewed 2026-05-13 05:50 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification ✦ hep-ph nucl-th
keywords bottomonium suppressionquark-gluon plasmaheavy-ion collisionsY statesCMS dataPb-Pb collisionsin-medium effects
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0 comments X

The pith

A model of in-medium suppression reproduces the sequential suppression of Y(1S,2S,3S) states in 5.02 TeV Pb-Pb collisions when initial central temperature and formation times are fitted to CMS data.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper calculates how the bottomonium states Y(1S), Y(2S), and Y(3S) lose their yield inside the hot medium produced in lead-lead collisions at the LHC. It determines the initial central temperature of that medium and the formation times of each state by minimizing the difference between model results and measured data from the CMS experiment. The approach accounts for the observed pattern in which more loosely bound states are suppressed more strongly, with the effect depending on collision centrality and transverse momentum. A reader would care because these states serve as probes of the quark-gluon plasma that forms in such collisions. The calculation shows that two fitted parameters suffice to describe the full set of centrality and momentum dependent measurements.

Core claim

The sequential centrality- and transverse-momentum-dependent suppression of the observed Y(1S,2S,3S) states is reproduced by the model with initial central temperature and formation times determined in simultaneous chi^2 minimizations with respect to the CMS data.

What carries the argument

The in-medium suppression model whose parameters (initial central temperature and Y(nS) formation times) are fixed by simultaneous chi^2 fits to the full CMS data set for all three states.

If this is right

  • The fitted initial temperature provides a direct constraint on the thermal conditions reached in the collisions.
  • The extracted formation times indicate when each bottomonium state becomes sensitive to the medium.
  • The same parameters allow predictions for suppression patterns in other collision systems or energies.
  • The sequential ordering of suppression follows from the different binding properties of the three states.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The success of the fit implies that regeneration contributions remain small for these states at LHC energies.
  • The framework could be tested by applying the same temperature and formation-time values to charmonium suppression data.
  • Extension to hydrodynamic evolution models would link the extracted temperature to the space-time profile of the collision.

Load-bearing premise

The chosen in-medium suppression mechanism together with the two fitted parameters fully accounts for the observed patterns without significant missing contributions from other effects such as regeneration or feed-down.

What would settle it

Measurements of Y(1S,2S,3S) suppression in Pb-Pb collisions at a different beam energy or with finer centrality bins that lie outside the range predicted by the fitted model would falsify the claim.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2605.11765 by G. Wolschin, J. Majonica.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: Simultaneous χ 2 optimization of initial central temperature T0 and Υ(nS ) formation times in √ sNN = 5.02 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to recent pT - and centrality-dependent CMS data [11]. The minimum is found at T0 = 535.9 MeV, the minimal ξ value corresponds to an average Υ(1S ) formation time hτ 1S F i ≃ 0.34 fm, with χ 2 = 45.6 and χ 2 /ndf=45.6/32=1.43. 4 [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004… view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: Cut of the 3D optimisation plot shown in Fig. 1 along [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: Calculated nuclear suppression factors RAA of the Υ(1S, 2S, 3S ) states as functions of centrality (average number of participants hNparti) in √ sNN = 5.02 TeV Pb-Pb collisions (solid curves) for |y| < 2.4 and pT < 20 GeV compared with recent CMS data (symbols) [11]. The Υ(1S ) data are from [10]. The model parameters initial central temperature T0 = 535.9 MeV and respective formation times hτ nS F i = 0.3… view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: The calculated RAA increases beyond pT ≃ 15 GeV for all three Υ states, since high-momentum bottomonia spend less time in the medium and therefore, suffer less suppression. Be￾cause we obtained the initial Υ populations from LHCb pp data [53] that are only available up to transverse momenta pT ≤ 20 GeV, we show Pb-Pb results up to this value of transverse mo￾mentum. The data tend to remain quite flat at hi… view at source ↗
read the original abstract

We present model calculations for the in-medium suppression of the Y(1S,2S,3S) states in sqrt(s_NN)=5.02 TeV Pb-Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider in comparison with recent CMS data for all three spin-triplet s-wave states. The model parameters initial central temperature, and formation times for the Y(nS) states are determined in simultaneous chi^2 minimizations with respect to the data, such that the sequential centrality- and transverse-momentum-dependent suppression of the observed states is reproduced.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

2 major / 2 minor

Summary. The manuscript presents model calculations for the in-medium suppression of the Y(1S,2S,3S) states in √s_NN=5.02 TeV Pb-Pb collisions, comparing to recent CMS data. The initial central temperature and formation times for the Y(nS) states are determined via simultaneous χ² minimizations such that the sequential centrality- and p_T-dependent suppression patterns are reproduced.

Significance. The work demonstrates a consistent phenomenological description of bottomonium suppression data using a minimal set of fitted parameters. If the underlying dissociation mechanism is robust and the formation times retain physical meaning after accounting for feed-down and regeneration, it could aid interpretation of QGP effects on quarkonia at LHC energies. However, the fitted nature of the parameters limits claims of explanatory power beyond data reproduction.

major comments (2)
  1. Abstract: the central claim states that the sequential suppression is reproduced by χ² minimization of the initial central temperature and formation times against the CMS data; this agreement is constructed by the fit rather than constituting an independent test of the in-medium mechanism.
  2. Model section (inferred from abstract description): the chosen suppression mechanism omits regeneration (which scales with bottom-quark density squared and is relevant at LHC energies) and explicit feed-down contributions; the fitted formation times may therefore act as effective parameters absorbing these missing effects rather than representing physical formation timescales.
minor comments (2)
  1. Abstract and results: report the explicit functional form of the in-medium dissociation rate and the full set of χ²/dof values for the simultaneous fits to allow assessment of fit quality.
  2. Figures: ensure all centrality and p_T bins used in the χ² minimizations are clearly labeled and that error bands from the fits are shown alongside the data points.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

2 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the careful reading of our manuscript and the constructive comments. We address the major comments point by point below and are prepared to revise the text for improved clarity on the phenomenological nature of the work.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: Abstract: the central claim states that the sequential suppression is reproduced by χ² minimization of the initial central temperature and formation times against the CMS data; this agreement is constructed by the fit rather than constituting an independent test of the in-medium mechanism.

    Authors: We agree that the reproduction of the sequential suppression patterns is achieved through the χ² minimization used to determine the initial central temperature and formation times. This is explicitly a phenomenological fit to the CMS data rather than an independent prediction. We will revise the abstract to state clearly that the parameters are obtained via fitting, thereby removing any implication of an a priori test of the mechanism. revision: yes

  2. Referee: Model section (inferred from abstract description): the chosen suppression mechanism omits regeneration (which scales with bottom-quark density squared and is relevant at LHC energies) and explicit feed-down contributions; the fitted formation times may therefore act as effective parameters absorbing these missing effects rather than representing physical formation timescales.

    Authors: The referee correctly identifies that regeneration and explicit feed-down are omitted from the model. The formation times are therefore effective parameters that can absorb contributions from these and other unmodeled effects. We will add a dedicated paragraph in the model description section acknowledging these limitations and clarifying the effective character of the fitted times. We do not intend to incorporate regeneration in the present work, as that would introduce additional parameters and require separate constraints. revision: partial

Circularity Check

1 steps flagged

Reproduction of suppression patterns achieved by fitting parameters to the same data

specific steps
  1. fitted input called prediction [Abstract]
    "The model parameters initial central temperature, and formation times for the Y(nS) states are determined in simultaneous chi^2 minimizations with respect to the data, such that the sequential centrality- and transverse-momentum-dependent suppression of the observed states is reproduced."

    The key parameters are explicitly fitted to the CMS data, and the reproduction of the centrality- and pT-dependent suppression patterns is stated as the direct outcome of this minimization. The agreement is therefore statistically forced by the fit rather than emerging as a prediction or derivation from the suppression mechanism alone.

full rationale

The paper's central claim is that the model reproduces the observed sequential suppression of Y(1S,2S,3S) states, but this is accomplished by determining the load-bearing parameters (initial central temperature and formation times) via simultaneous chi^2 minimization directly against the CMS data being modeled. This reduces the agreement to a fitted result by construction rather than an independent test of the underlying in-medium mechanism. The approach is transparent in the abstract, but qualifies as a fitted-input-called-prediction pattern per the analysis criteria. No self-citations, ansatzes, or other circular elements are identified in the provided text, and the suppression mechanism itself may retain independent physical content.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

2 free parameters · 2 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim rests on two fitted parameters and standard domain assumptions of heavy-ion phenomenology; no new entities are postulated.

free parameters (2)
  • initial central temperature
    Determined simultaneously with formation times via chi^2 minimization to CMS Y-state suppression data
  • formation times for the Y(nS) states
    Determined simultaneously with initial temperature via chi^2 minimization to CMS Y-state suppression data
axioms (2)
  • domain assumption Suppression of Y states arises from in-medium dissociation in the quark-gluon plasma
    Core modeling premise stated in the abstract
  • domain assumption The collision medium evolves according to a thermal or hydrodynamic description whose temperature profile is characterized by a single initial central value
    Implicit in the use of a single initial central temperature parameter

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5400 in / 1455 out tokens · 43435 ms · 2026-05-13T05:50:36.653110+00:00 · methodology

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Lean theorems connected to this paper

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