Heavy-ion collisions provide a unique opportunity to study the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), an exotic state of matter where quarks and gluons are no longer confined within hadrons and believed to have existed just a few microseconds after the Big Bang. Charm quarks are among the key probes for investigating the QGP. Indeed, they retain information about their interactions with the QGP, making them essential for understanding the properties of the plasma. The production of charm quarks and their interactions with the QGP is studied through the measurements of hadrons, mesons and baryons, containing at least one charm quark or antiquark, like D0 mesons or Lambda_c baryons. However, the hadronization process—how charm quarks become confined within colorless baryons or mesons—remains poorly understood.

A promising approach to gaining deeper insights into charm hadronization is to measure the elliptic flow of charm hadrons, which refers to long-range angular correlations and is a signature of collective effects due to thermalization. By comparing the elliptic flow of D0 mesons and Lambda_c baryons, researchers can better understand the charm hadronization mechanism, which is sensitive to the properties of the created medium.

To measure elliptic flow, the selected student will develop an innovative method that leverages the full capabilities of the detector. This method, which has never been applied before, provides a more intuitive and theoretically sound interpretation of the results. The candidate will adapt this technique for use with the LHCb detector to measure, compare, and interpret the elliptic flow of Lambda_c charm baryons and D0 mesons with the PbPb samples collected by LHCb in 2024.