Towards quarkonium formation time determination

Abstract

AbstractWe propose a parametrization of the nuclear absorption mechanism relying on the proper time spent by $${c} {{{\overline{{c}}}}} $$ c c ¯ bound states travelling in nuclear matter. Our approach could lead to the extraction of charmonium formation time. It is based on a large amount of proton-nucleus data, from nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energies $${\sqrt{s_{NN}}} =27{\mathrm {\,Ge V}} $$ s NN = 27 Ge V to $${\sqrt{s_{NN}}} =5.02{\mathrm {\,Te V}} $$ s NN = 5.02 Te V , collected in the past 30 years, and for which the main effect on charmonium production must be its absorption by the nuclear matter it crosses.