A systematic study of initial state quark energy loss in fixed target proton nucleus collision

In this article, we investigate parton energy loss in cold nuclear matter by studying the ratio of Drell-Yan production cross sections in fixed-target proton-nucleus (p + A) collisions. We analyze Drell-Yan production cross-section data from the Fermilab E866 and E906 experiments using two different quark energy loss parametrization models and various parton distribution functions for 800 GeV and 120 GeV proton beams incident on light and heavy nuclear targets. The sensitivity of the energy loss parameter on the employed parton distribution function has been thoroughly investigated. Our results have been used to predict the target mass dependence of Drell-Yan production in upcoming proton-induced collisions at SPS and FAIR.