We report the triton ($t$) production in mid-rapidity ($|y| <$ 0.5) Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$= 7.7--200 GeV measured by the STAR experiment from the first phase of the beam energy scan at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The nuclear compound yield ratio ($\mathrm{N}_t \times \mathrm{N}_p/\mathrm{N}_d^2$), which is predicted to be sensitive to the fluctuation of local neutron density, is observed to decrease monotonically with increasing charged-particle multiplicity ($dN_{ch}/d\eta$) and follows a scaling behavior. The $dN_{ch}/d\eta$ dependence of the yield ratio is compared to calculations from coalescence and thermal models. Enhancements in the yield ratios relative to the coalescence baseline are observed in the 0%-10% most central collisions at 19.6 and 27 GeV, with a significance of 2.3$\sigma$ and 3.4$\sigma$, respectively, giving a combined significance of 4.1$\sigma$. The enhancements are not observed in peripheral collisions or model calculations without critical fluctuation, and decreases with a smaller $p_{T}$ acceptance. The physics implications of these results on the QCD phase structure and the production mechanism of light nuclei in heavy-ion collisions are discussed.
Invariant yields of tritons at 7.7 GeV, all centralities. The first uncertainty is statistical uncertainty, the second is systematic uncertainty.
Invariant yields of tritons at 11.5 GeV, all centralities. The first uncertainty is statistical uncertainty, the second is systematic uncertainty.
Invariant yields of tritons at 14.5 GeV, all centralities. The first uncertainty is statistical uncertainty, the second is systematic uncertainty.
Measurements are reported of the proton and deuteron spin structure functions g1 at beam energies of 29.1, 16.2, and 9.7 GeV and g2 at a beam energy of 29.1 GeV. The integrals of g1 over x have been evaluated at fixed Q**2 = 3 (GeV/c)**2 using the full data set. The Q**2 dependence of the ratio g1/F1 was studied and found to be small for Q**2 > 1 (GeV/c)**2. Within experimental precision the g2 data are well-described by the Wandzura-Wilczek twist-2 contribution. Twist-3 matrix elements were extracted and compared to theoretical predictions. The asymmetry A2 was measured and found to be significantly smaller than the positivity limit for both proton and deuteron targets. A2 for the proton is found to be positive and inconsistent with zero. Measurements of g1 in the resonance region show strong variations with x and Q**2, consistent with resonant amplitudes extracted from unpolarized data. These data allow us to study the Q**2 dependence of the first moments of g1 below the scaling region.
Averaged A1(P) for the DIS (W**2 > 4 GeV) region. Additional normalization uncertainty 3.7%.
Detailed A1(P) for the DIS (W**2 > 4 GeV) region. Additional normalization uncertainty 3.7%.
Detailed A1(P) for the DIS (W**2 > 4 GeV) region. Additional normalization uncertainty 3.7%.
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