Open-quantum-systems approach to in-medium heavy quarkonium dynamics

Abstract

Heavy quarkonium continues to play a central role in the study of nuclear matter under extremes of temperature and density in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In this talk I report on recent developments in the theoretical description of quarkonium in-medium dynamics using the open-quantum systems approach. Not only does it provide a clear interpretation of the imaginary part of the complex heavy-quark potential but also reveals that a subtle interplay between screening and wavefunction decoherence is responsible for the melting of heavy quarkonium states.

Comments: 6 pages, 3 figures, talk given at the 28th International Nuclear Physics Conference (INPC 2022), Sep. 11-16, 2022, Cape Town, South Africa