The production of vector boson tagged heavy quark jets provides potentially new tools to probe the jet quenching effect.
In this paper, we present the first theoretical study on the angular correlations~($\Delta\phi_{bZ}$), transverse momentum imbalance~($x_{bZ}$) and nuclear modification factor~($I_{AA}$) of $Z^0$ boson tagged b-jets in heavy-ion collisions by utilizing a Monte Carlo transport model. We find that the medium modification of the $\Delta\phi_{bZ}$ for $Z^0\,+\,$b-jet has a weaker dependence on $\Delta\phi_{bZ}$ compared to that for $Z^0\,+\,$jet, and the modification patterns are sensitive to the initial jet $p_T$ distribution. Additionally, with the high purity of quark jet in $Z^0\,+\,$(b-)jet production, we calculate the momentum imbalance $x_{bZ}$ and the nuclear modification factor $I_{AA}$ of $Z^0\,+\,$b-jet in Pb+Pb collisions. We observe smaller $\Delta \left\langle x_{jZ} \right\rangle$ and larger $I_{AA}$ for $Z^0\,+\,$b-jet in Pb+Pb collisions relative to that for $Z^0\,+\,$jet, , which may be an indication of the mass effect of jet quenching and can be tested in the future measurements. Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Article funded by SCOAP3 and published under licence by Chinese Physical Society and the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Science and the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and IOP Publishing Ltd.