Measurements of azimuthal anisotropy of nonprompt D^0 mesons in PbPb collisions at √s_{NN}=5.02 TeV

Abstract

Measurements of the elliptic (𝑣_2) and triangular (𝑣_3) azimuthal anisotropy coefficients are presented for D^0 mesons produced in b hadron decays (nonprompt D^0 mesons) in lead-lead collisions at √𝑠_{NN} = 5.02TeV. The results are compared with previously published charm meson anisotropies measured using prompt D^0 mesons. The data were collected with the CMS detector in 2018 with an integrated luminosity of 0.58 nb^{−1}. Azimuthal anisotropy is sensitive to the interactions of quarks with the hot and dense medium created in heavy ion collisions. Comparing results for prompt and nonprompt D^0 mesons can assist in understanding the mass dependence of these interactions. The nonprompt results show lower magnitudes of 𝑣_2 and 𝑣_3 and weaker dependences on the meson transverse momentum and collision centrality than those found for prompt D^0 mesons. The results are in agreement with theoretical predictions that include a mass dependence in the interactions of quarks with the medium.