Physical Sciences

Heavy quarks (HQ) are believed to have unique roles for studying QCD at finite temperature and baryon density. By comparing precision measurements of HQ hadron production in heavy-ion collisions with realistic phenomenological model calculations, the goal is to understand interactions and dynamics of HQ propagating through the Quark–Gluon Plasma (QGP) medium and furthermore to characterize the QGP with emergent QCD transport parameters and their temperature dependence. In this article, we will review recent experimental and theoretical achievements on HQ production in high energy p + p, p∕d + A and A + A collisions at RHIC and the LHC. We will discuss what we have learned about the HQ production and how HQs interact with the QGP medium along with their QGP medium properties. Finally, we would like to discuss a few open questions and propose future experimental and theoretical directions towards the physics goals utilizing HQ probes.