Finite Creation Time Effects on Collisional Energy Loss of Jets in a QGP

We calculate the collisional energy loss suffered by a heavy (charm) quark created at a finite time within a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) in the classical linear response formalism as in Peigne et al. [1]. We pay close attention to the problem of formulating a conserved current and accounting for both binding and radiative energy loss effects. We find that binding effects in particular are large due to the form of the current used, leading to a spurious depression in the energy loss . We find that the finite time retardation correction is on the order of a Debye length as expected and the overall energy loss is similar in magnitude to the energy loss suffered by a charge created in the asymptotic past, once binding effects have been neglected. This result has significant implications for the relative contribution to energy loss from collisional and radiative sources and will have ramifications for the "single electron puzzle" at RHIC as well as other experimental observables. The presentation is based on work detailed in [2]. [1] Peigne, Gossiaux, Gousset. arXiv:nucl-th/0509185 [2] A.Adil, M.Gyulassy, W.A.Horowitz, and S.Wicks, arXiv:nucl-th/0606010.