Exploring the Beam Energy Dependence of Flow-Like Signatures in Small System $d+$Au Collisions

Understand

Recent analyses of small collision systems, namely $p+p$ and $p+$Pb at the LHC and $p+$Au, $d+$Au and $^{3}$He+Au at RHIC, have revealed azimuthal momentum anisotropies commonly associated with collective flow in larger systems.

• Viscous hydrodynamics and parton cascade calculations have proved successful at describing some flow-like observables in these systems.
• These two classes of calculations also confirm these observables to be directly related to the initial geometry of the created medium.
• However, the question of whether equilibrium dynamics is the dominant driver of the signal remains open, given the short lifetime of small systems.