Higher-Order Cumulants and Correlation Functions of Proton Multiplicity Distributions in $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 3 GeV Au+Au Collisions at the STAR Experiment

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, Mohamed ; Aboona, Bassam ; Adam, Jaroslav ; et al.
Phys.Rev.C 107 (2023) 024908, 2023.
Inspire Record 2631860 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.134023

We report a measurement of cumulants and correlation functions of event-by-event proton multiplicity distributions from fixed-target Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 3 GeV measured by the STAR experiment. Protons are identified within the rapidity ($y$) and transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) region $-0.9 < y<0$ and $0.4 < p_{\rm T} <2.0 $ GeV/$c$ in the center-of-mass frame. A systematic analysis of the proton cumulants and correlation functions up to sixth-order as well as the corresponding ratios as a function of the collision centrality, $p_{\rm T}$, and $y$ are presented. The effect of pileup and initial volume fluctuations on these observables and the respective corrections are discussed in detail. The results are compared to calculations from the hadronic transport UrQMD model as well as a hydrodynamic model. In the most central 5% collisions, the value of proton cumulant ratio $C_4/C_2$ is negative, drastically different from the values observed in Au+Au collisions at higher energies. Compared to model calculations including Lattice QCD, a hadronic transport model, and a hydrodynamic model, the strong suppression in the ratio of $C_4/C_2$ at 3 GeV Au+Au collisions indicates an energy regime dominated by hadronic interactions.

41 data tables

The uncorrected number of charged particles except protons ($N_{\rm ch}$) within the pseudorapidity $−2<\eta<0$ used for the centrality selection for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 3 GeV. The centrality classes are expressed in % of the total cross section. The lower boundary of the particle multiplicity ($N_{\rm ch}$) is included for each centrality class. Values are provided for the average number of participants ($\langle N_{\rm part}\rangle$) and pileup fraction. The fraction of pileup for each centrality bin is also shown in the last column. The averaged pileup fraction from the minimum biased collisions is determined to be 0.46%. Values in the parentheses are systematic uncertainty.

The centrality definition determined by $N_{\rm part}$ in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 3 GeV from the UrQMD model. The centrality definition is only used in the UrQMD calculation.

Main contributors to systematic uncertainty to the proton cumulant ratios: $C_2/C_1$, $C_3/C_2$,and $C_4/C_2$ from 0–5% central 3 GeV Au+Au collisions. The first row shows the values and statistical uncertainties of those ratios. The corresponding values of these ratios along with the statistical uncertainties are listed in the table. The final total value is the quadratic sum of uncertainties from centrality, pileup, and the dominant contribution from TPC hits, DCA, TOF $m^2$, and detector efficiency. Clearly, this analysis is systematically dominant.

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Pion, Kaon, and (Anti-)Proton Production in U+U Collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 193 GeV in STAR

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, M.S. ; Aboona, B.E. ; Adam, J. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.C 107 (2023) 024901, 2023.
Inspire Record 2629622 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.132660

We present the first measurements of transverse momentum spectra of $\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p(\bar{p})$ at midrapidity ($|y| < 0.1$) in U+U collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 193 GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The centrality dependence of particle yields, average transverse momenta, particle ratios and kinetic freeze-out parameters are discussed. The results are compared with the published results from Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 200 GeV in STAR. The results are also compared to those from A Multi Phase Transport (AMPT) model.

20 data tables

'Identified transverse momentum spectra of $\pi^{+}$ at midrapidity (|y| < 0.1) in U+U collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 193 GeV'

'Identified transverse momentum spectra of $K^{+}$ at midrapidity (|y| < 0.1) in U+U collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 193 GeV'

'Identified transverse momentum spectra of p at midrapidity (|y| < 0.1) in U+U collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 193 GeV'

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Azimuthal transverse single-spin asymmetries of inclusive jets and identified hadrons within jets from polarized $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, Mohamed ; Aboona, Bassam ; Adam, Jaroslav ; et al.
Phys.Rev.D 106 (2022) 072010, 2022.
Inspire Record 2087127 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.130778

The STAR Collaboration reports measurements of the transverse single-spin asymmetries, $A_N$, for inclusive jets and identified `hadrons within jets' production at midrapidity from transversely polarized $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV, based on data recorded in 2012 and 2015. The inclusive jet asymmetry measurements include $A_N$ for inclusive jets and $A_N$ for jets containing a charged pion carrying a momentum fraction $z>0.3$ of the jet momentum. The identified hadron within jet asymmetry measurements include the Collins effect for charged pions, kaons and protons, and the Collins-like effect for charged pions. The measured asymmetries are determined for several distinct kinematic regions, characterized by the jet transverse momentum $p_{T}$ and pseudorapidity $\eta$, as well as the hadron momentum fraction $z$ and momentum transverse to the jet axis $j_{T}$. These results probe higher momentum scales ($Q^{2}$ up to $\sim$ 900 GeV$^{2}$) than current, semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering measurements, and they provide new constraints on quark transversity in the proton and enable tests of evolution, universality and factorization breaking in the transverse-momentum-dependent formalism.

127 data tables

Distribution of the normalized jet yield as a function of detector jet-$p_{T}$ in 2015 data and simulation. The lower panel shows the ratio between data and simulation.

Comparison of data with simulation for charged hadrons within jets in the 2015 data as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, $z$, in two different ranges of jet-$p_{T}$.

Comparison of data with simulation for charged hadrons within jets in the 2015 data as a function of the hadron momentum transverse to the jet axis, $j_{T}$, in two different ranges of jet-$p_{T}$.

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Azimuthal anisotropy measurement of (multi-)strange hadrons in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}$ = 54.4 GeV

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, Mohamed ; Aboona, Bassam ; Adam, Jaroslav ; et al.
Phys.Rev.C 107 (2023) 024912, 2023.
Inspire Record 2635688 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.130768

Azimuthal anisotropy of produced particles is one of the most important observables used to access the collective properties of the expanding medium created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In this paper, we present second ($v_{2}$) and third ($v_{3}$) order azimuthal anisotropies of $K_{S}^{0}$, $\phi$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ at mid-rapidity ($|y|<$1) in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}$ = 54.4 GeV measured by the STAR detector. The $v_{2}$ and $v_{3}$ are measured as a function of transverse momentum and centrality. Their energy dependence is also studied. $v_{3}$ is found to be more sensitive to the change in the center-of-mass energy than $v_{2}$. Scaling by constituent quark number is found to hold for $v_{2}$ within 10%. This observation could be evidence for the development of partonic collectivity in 54.4 GeV Au+Au collisions. Differences in $v_{2}$ and $v_{3}$ between baryons and anti-baryons are presented, and ratios of $v_{3}$/$v_{2}^{3/2}$ are studied and motivated by hydrodynamical calculations. The ratio of $v_{2}$ of $\phi$ mesons to that of anti-protons ($v_{2}(\phi)/v_{2}(\bar{p})$) shows centrality dependence at low transverse momentum, presumably resulting from the larger effects from hadronic interactions on anti-proton $v_{2}$.

62 data tables

$v_{2}(p_{T})$ for $K_{S}^{0}$ (Centrality:0-10%)

$v_{2}(p_{T})$ for $K_{S}^{0}$ (Centrality:10-40%)

$v_{2}(p_{T})$ for $K_{S}^{0}$ (Centrality:40-80%)

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Observation of Global Spin Alignment of $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ Vector Mesons in Nuclear Collisions

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, M.S. ; Aboona, B.E. ; Adam, J. ; et al.
Nature 614 (2023) 244-248, 2023.
Inspire Record 2063245 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.129067

Notwithstanding decades of progress since Yukawa first developed a description of the force between nucleons in terms of meson exchange, a full understanding of the strong interaction remains a major challenge in modern science. One remaining difficulty arises from the non-perturbative nature of the strong force, which leads to the phenomenon of quark confinement at distances on the order of the size of the proton. Here we show that in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, where quarks and gluons are set free over an extended volume, two species of produced vector (spin-1) mesons, namely $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$, emerge with a surprising pattern of global spin alignment. In particular, the global spin alignment for $\phi$ is unexpectedly large, while that for $K^{*0}$ is consistent with zero. The observed spin-alignment pattern and magnitude for the $\phi$ cannot be explained by conventional mechanisms, while a model with a connection to strong force fields, i.e. an effective proxy description within the Standard Model and Quantum Chromodynamics, accommodates the current data. This connection, if fully established, will open a potential new avenue for studying the behaviour of strong force fields.

38 data tables

Global spin alignment of $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ vector mesons in heavy-ion collisions. The measured matrix element $\rho_{00}$ as a function of beam energy for the $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ vector mesons within the indicated windows of centrality, transverse momentum ($p_T$) and rapidity ($y$). The open symbols indicate ALICE results for Pb+Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV at $p_{T}$ values of 2.0 and 1.4 GeV/c for the $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ mesons, respectively, corresponding to the $p_{T}$ bin nearest to the mean $p_{T}$ for the 1.0 – 5.0 GeV/$c$ range assumed for each meson in the present analysis. The red solid curve is a fit to data in the range of $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 19.6$ to 200 GeV, based on a theoretical calculation with a $\phi$-meson field. Parameter sensitivity of $\rho_{00}$ to the $\phi$-meson field is shown in Ref.5. The red dashed line is an extension of the solid curve with the fitted parameter $G_s^{(y)}$. The black dashed line represents $\rho_{00}=1/3.$

Global spin alignment of $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ vector mesons in heavy-ion collisions. The measured matrix element $\rho_{00}$ as a function of beam energy for the $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ vector mesons within the indicated windows of centrality, transverse momentum ($p_T$) and rapidity ($y$). The open symbols indicate ALICE results for Pb+Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV at $p_{T}$ values of 2.0 and 1.4 GeV/c for the $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ mesons, respectively, corresponding to the $p_{T}$ bin nearest to the mean $p_{T}$ for the 1.0 – 5.0 GeV/$c$ range assumed for each meson in the present analysis. The red solid curve is a fit to data in the range of $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 19.6$ to 200 GeV, based on a theoretical calculation with a $\phi$-meson field. Parameter sensitivity of $\rho_{00}$ to the $\phi$-meson field is shown in Ref.5. The red dashed line is an extension of the solid curve with the fitted parameter $G_s^{(y)}$. The black dashed line represents $\rho_{00}=1/3.$

Example of combinatorial background subtracted invariant mass distributions and the extracted yields as a function of $\cos \theta^*$ for $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ mesons. \textbf{a)} example of $\phi \rightarrow K^+ + K^-$ invariant mass distributions, with combinatorial background subtracted, integrated over $\cos \theta^*$; \textbf{b)} example of $K^{*0} (\overline{K^{*0}}) \rightarrow K^{-} \pi^{+} (K^{+} \pi^{-})$ invariant mass distributions, with combinatorial background subtracted, integrated over $\cos \theta^*$; \textbf{c)} extracted yields of $\phi$ as a function of $\cos \theta^*$; \textbf{d)} extracted yields of $K^{*0}$ as a function of $\cos \theta^*$.

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Tomography of Ultra-relativistic Nuclei with Polarized Photon-gluon Collisions

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, Mohamed ; Aboona, Bassam ; Adam, Jaroslav ; et al.
Sci.Adv. 9 (2023) eabq3903, 2023.
Inspire Record 2062296 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.132921

A linearly polarized photon can be quantized from the Lorentz-boosted electromagnetic field of a nucleus traveling at ultra-relativistic speed. When two relativistic heavy nuclei pass one another at a distance of a few nuclear radii, the photon from one nucleus may interact through a virtual quark-antiquark pair with gluons from the other nucleus forming a short-lived vector meson (e.g. ${\rho^0}$). In this experiment, the polarization was utilized in diffractive photoproduction to observe a unique spin interference pattern in the angular distribution of ${\rho^0\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-}$ decays. The observed interference is a result of an overlap of two wave functions at a distance an order of magnitude larger than the ${\rho^0}$ travel distance within its lifetime. The strong-interaction nuclear radii were extracted from these diffractive interactions, and found to be $6.53\pm 0.06$ fm ($^{197} {\rm Au }$) and $7.29\pm 0.08$ fm ($^{238} {\rm U}$), larger than the nuclear charge radii. The observable is demonstrated to be sensitive to the nuclear geometry and quantum interference of non-identical particles.

14 data tables

The invariant mass distribution of pi+pi- pairs collected from Au+Au and U+U collisions.

Two-dimensional $\rho^0$ momentum distribution from Au+Au collisions.

Two-dimensional $\rho^0$ momentum distribution from Au+Au collisions.

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Evidence for Nonlinear Gluon Effects in QCD and their $A$ Dependence at STAR

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, M.S. ; Aboona, B.E. ; Adam, J. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 129 (2022) 092501, 2022.
Inspire Record 1972873 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.115421

The STAR Collaboration reports measurements of back-to-back azimuthal correlations of di-$\pi^0$s produced at forward pseudorapidities ($2.6<\eta<4.0$) in $p$+$p$, $p+$Al, and $p+$Au collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV. We observe a clear suppression of the correlated yields of back-to-back $\pi^0$ pairs in $p+$Al and $p+$Au collisions compared to the $p$+$p$ data. The observed suppression of back-to-back pairs as a function of transverse momentum suggests nonlinear gluon dynamics arising at high parton densities. The larger suppression found in $p+$Au relative to $p+$Al collisions exhibits a dependence of the saturation scale, $Q_s^2$, on the mass number, $A$. A linear scaling of the suppression with $A^{1/3}$ is observed with a slope of $-0.09$$\pm$$0.01$.

15 data tables

The correlation functions (corrected for nonuniform detector efficiency in $\phi$; not corrected for the absolute detection efficiency) vs. azimuthal angle difference between forward ($2.6<\eta<4.0$) $\pi^{0}$s in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{_{NN}}}}=200$ GeV at low $p_{T}$ ($p^{trig}_{T}$=2-2.5 GeV/c, $p^{asso}_{T}$=1-1.5 GeV/c)

The correlation functions (corrected for nonuniform detector efficiency in $\phi$; not corrected for the absolute detection efficiency) vs. azimuthal angle difference between forward ($2.6<\eta<4.0$) $\pi^{0}$s in $p+$Al collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{_{NN}}}}=200$ GeV at low $p_{T}$ ($p^{trig}_{T}$=2-2.5 GeV/c, $p^{asso}_{T}$=1-1.5 GeV/c)

The correlation functions (corrected for nonuniform detector efficiency in $\phi$; not corrected for the absolute detection efficiency) vs. azimuthal angle difference between forward ($2.6<\eta<4.0$) $\pi^{0}$s in $p+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{_{NN}}}}=200$ GeV at low $p_{T}$ ($p^{trig}_{T}$=2-2.5 GeV/c, $p^{asso}_{T}$=1-1.5 GeV/c)

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Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry for inclusive jet and dijet production in polarized proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=510$ GeV

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, M.S. ; Aboona, B.E. ; Adam, J. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.D 105 (2022) 092011, 2022.
Inspire Record 1949588 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.114778

We report measurements of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry, $A_{LL}$, for inclusive jet and dijet production in polarized proton-proton collisions at midrapidity and center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}$ = 510 GeV, using the high luminosity data sample collected by the STAR experiment in 2013. These measurements complement and improve the precision of previous STAR measurements at the same center-of-mass energy that probe the polarized gluon distribution function at partonic momentum fraction 0.015 $\lesssim x \lesssim$ 0.25. The dijet asymmetries are separated into four jet-pair topologies, which provide further constraints on the $x$ dependence of the polarized gluon distribution function. These measurements are in agreement with previous STAR measurements and with predictions from current next-to-leading order global analyses. They provide more precise data at low dijet invariant mass that will better constraint the shape of the polarized gluon distribution function of the proton.

20 data tables

Parton jet $p_T$ vs $A_{LL}$ values with associated uncertainties.

Parton dijet $M_{inv}$ vs $A_{LL}$ values with associated uncertainties, for topology A.

Parton dijet $M_{inv}$ vs $A_{LL}$ values with associated uncertainties, for topology B.

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Measurement of inclusive electrons from open heavy-flavor hadron decays in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 200$ GeV with the STAR detector

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, Mohamed ; Aboona, Bassam ; Adam, Jaroslav ; et al.
Phys.Rev.D 105 (2022) 032007, 2022.
Inspire Record 1928900 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.113876

We report a new measurement of the production cross section for inclusive electrons from open heavy-flavor hadron decays as a function of transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) at mid-rapidity ($|y|<$ 0.7) in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 200$ GeV. The result is presented for 2.5 $<p_{\rm T}<$ 10 GeV/$c$ with an improved precision above 6 GeV/$c$ with respect to the previous measurements, providing more constraints on perturbative QCD calculations. Moreover, this measurement also provides a high-precision reference for measurements of nuclear modification factors for inclusive electrons from open-charm and -bottom hadron decays in heavy-ion collisions.

4 data tables

Signal-to-background ratio as a function of $p_{T}$, where the signals are non-photonic electrons [$N_{\rm INE}\times P_{\rm e} - N_{\rm PHE}/\varepsilon_{PHE}$ in Eq.$1$ shown in paper text] and the backgrounds are photonic electrons [$N_{\rm PHE}/\varepsilon_{PHE}$ in Eq.$1$], in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. The vertical bars represent statistical uncertainties while the boxes represent systematic uncertainties.

Invariant cross sections of the electrons from decays of prompt $J/\Psi$ (dot-dashed line), $\Upsilon$ (dotted line), Drell-Yan (long dash-dotted line), light vector mesons (long dashed line) and the combined HDE (hadron decayed electron) contributions (solid line) in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. The bands represent systematic uncertainties.

(a) The NPE (non-photonic electron) cross section after subtracting the light vector meson contribution at STAR in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV from $2012$ (filled circles) along with published STAR data from $2005$ and $2008$ (filled down triangles), published PHENIX data from $2005$ (filled up triangles) and power-law fit (curve). (b) Ratio of data over power-law fit. The vertical bars and the boxes represent statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively.

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Differential measurements of jet substructure and partonic energy loss in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {S_{NN}}$ =200 GeV

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, M.S. ; Aboona, B.E. ; Adam, J. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.C 105 (2022) 044906, 2022.
Inspire Record 1925052 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.113875

The STAR collaboration presents jet substructure measurements related to both the momentum fraction and the opening angle within jets in \pp and \AuAu collisions at \sqrtsn $= 200$ GeV. The substructure observables include SoftDrop groomed momentum fraction (\zg), groomed jet radius (\rg), and subjet momentum fraction (\zsj) and opening angle (\tsj). The latter observable is introduced for the first time. Fully corrected subjet measurements are presented for \pp collisions and are compared to leading order Monte Carlo models. The subjet \tsj~distributions reflect the jets leading opening angle and are utilized as a proxy for the resolution scale of the medium in \AuAu collisions. We compare data from \AuAu collisions to those from \pp which are embedded in minimum-bias \AuAu events in order to include the effects of detector smearing and the heavy-ion collision underlying event. The subjet observables are shown to be more robust to the background than \zg~and \rg. We observe no significant modifications of the subjet observables within the two highest-energy, back-to-back jets, resulting in a distribution of opening angles and the splittings that are vacuum-like. We also report measurements of the differential di-jet momentum imbalance ($A_{\rm{J}}$) for jets of varying \tsj. We find no qualitative differences in energy loss signatures for varying angular scales in the range $0.1 < $\tsj $ < 0.3$, leading to the possible interpretation that energy loss in this population of high momentum di-jet pairs, is due to soft medium-induced gluon radiation from a single color-charge as it traverses the medium.

54 data tables

$z_{g}$ for HardCore Trigger jets in AuAu Data anti-kT R$=$0.4

$z_{g}$ for HardCore Trigger jets in pp$+$AuAu Data anti-kT R$=$0.4

$z_{g}$ for Matched Trigger jets in AuAu Data anti-kT R$=$0.4

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