The transverse momentum dependence of the azimuthal anisotropy parameter v_2, the second harmonic of the azimuthal distribution, for electrons at mid-rapidity (|eta| < 0.35) has been measured with the PHENIX detector in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The measurement was made with respect to the reaction plane defined at high rapidities (|eta| = 3.1 -- 3.9). From the result we have measured the v_2 of electrons from heavy flavor decay after subtraction of the v_2 of electrons from other sources such as photon conversions and Dalitz decay from light neutral mesons. We observe a non-zero single electron v_2 with a 90% confidence level in the intermediate p_T region.
Transverse momentum dependence of inclusive electron $v_2$ and heavy quark electron $v_2$.
We present the first results of meson production in the K^+K^- decay channel from Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV as measured at mid-rapidity by the PHENIX detector at RHIC. Precision resonance centroid and width values are extracted as a function of collision centrality. No significant variation from the PDG accepted values is observed. The transverse mass spectra are fitted with a linear exponential function for which the derived inverse slope parameter is seen to be constant as a function of centrality. These data are also fitted by a hydrodynamic model with the result that the freeze-out temperature and the expansion velocity values are consistent with the values previously derived from fitting single hadron inclusive data. As a function of transverse momentum the collisions scaled peripheral.to.central yield ratio RCP for the is comparable to that of pions rather than that of protons. This result lends support to theoretical models which distinguish between baryons and mesons instead of particle mass for explaining the anomalous proton yield.
Minimum-bias $m_T$ spectra of $\phi$ for different subsystem combinations.
Minimum-bias $m_T$ spectra of $\phi$ for different subsystem combinations.
Minimum-bias $m_T$ spectra of $\phi$ for different subsystem combinations.
Transverse momentum spectra of neutral pions in the range 1 < p_T < 10 GeV/c have been measured at mid-rapidity by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The pi^0 multiplicity in central reactions is significantly below the yields measured at the same sqrt(s_NN) in peripheral Au+Au and p+p reactions scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions. For the most central bin, the suppression factor is ~2.5 at p_T = 2 GeV/c and increases to ~4-5 at p_T ~= 4 GeV/c. At larger p_T, the suppression remains constant within errors. The deficit is already apparent in semi-peripheral reactions and increases smoothly with centrality.
Invariant $\pi^0$ yields at midrapidity as a function of $p_T$ for minimum bias and nine centralities in $Au\ +\ Au$ at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200\ GeV$ [0%–10% (80%–92%) is most central (peripheral)]. The labels "uncorr." and "corr." include systematic errors that are uncorrelated and correlated point-to-point, respectively.
Invariant $\pi^0$ yields at midrapidity as a function of $p_T$ for minimum bias and nine centralities in $Au\ +\ Au$ at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200\ GeV$ [0%–10% (80%–92%) is most central (peripheral)]. The labels "uncorr." and "corr." include systematic errors that are uncorrelated and correlated point-to-point, respectively.
Invariant $\pi^0$ yields at midrapidity as a function of $p_T$ for minimum bias and nine centralities in $Au\ +\ Au$ at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200\ GeV$ [0%–10% (80%–92%) is most central (peripheral)]. The labels "uncorr." and "corr." include systematic errors that are uncorrelated and correlated point-to-point, respectively.
Event-by-event fluctuations of the average transverse momentum of produced particles near mid-rapidity have been measured by the PHENIX Collaboration in sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV Au+Au and p+p collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The fluctuations are observed to be in excess of the expectation for statistically independent particle emission for all centralities. The excess fluctuations exhibit a dependence on both the centrality of the collision and on the transverse momentum window over which the average is calculated. Both the centrality and p_T dependence can be well reproduced by a simulation of random particle production with the addition of contributions from hard scattering processes.
Comparisons between the data and mixed event $M_{p_T}$ distributions for the representative 0-5% centrality classes. Also given are the residuals between the data and mixed events in units of standard deviations of the data points form the mixed event points.
Comparisons between the data and mixed event $M_{p_T}$ distributions for the representative 30-35% centrality classes. Also given are the residuals between the data and mixed events in units of standard deviations of the data points form the mixed event points.
$F_{p_T}$ (in percent, 0.2 GeV/$c$ < $p_T$ < 2.0 GeV/$c$) as a function of centrality, which is expressed in terms of the number of participants in the collision, $N_{part}$.
Measurements of neutral pion production at midrapidity in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions as a function of transverse momentum, p_T, collision centrality, and angle with respect to reaction plane are presented. The data represent the final pi^0 results from the PHENIX experiment for the first RHIC Au+Au run at design center-of-mass-energy. They include additional data obtained using the PHENIX Level-2 trigger with more than a factor of three increase in statistics over previously published results for p_T > 6 GeV/c. We evaluate the suppression in the yield of high-p_T pi^0's relative to point-like scaling expectations using the nuclear modification factor R_AA. We present the p_T dependence of R_AA for nine bins in collision centrality. We separately integrate R_AA over larger p_T bins to show more precisely the centrality dependence of the high-p_T suppression. We then evaluate the dependence of the high-p_T suppression on the emission angle \Delta\phi of the pions with respect to event reaction plane for 7 bins in collision centrality. We show that the yields of high-p_T pi^0's vary strongly with \Delta\phi, consistent with prior measurements. We show that this variation persists in the most peripheral bin accessible in this analysis. For the peripheral bins we observe no suppression for neutral pions produced aligned with the reaction plane while the yield of pi^0's produced perpendicular to the reaction plane is suppressed by more than a factor of 2. We analyze the combined centrality and \Delta\phi dependence of the pi^0 suppression in different p_T bins using different possible descriptions of parton energy loss dependence on jet path-length averages to determine whether a single geometric picture can explain the observed suppression pattern.
Neutral pion invariant yields as a function of $p_T$ measured in minimum bias and 9 centrality classes in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Neutral pion invariant yields as a function of $p_T$ measured in minimum bias and 9 centrality classes in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Neutral pion invariant yields as a function of $p_T$ measured in minimum bias and 9 centrality classes in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Longitudinal density correlations of produced matter in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV have been measured from the inclusive charged particle distributions as a function of pseudorapidity window sizes. The extracted \alpha \xi parameter, related to the susceptibility of the density fluctuations in the long wavelength limit, exhibits a non-monotonic behavior as a function of the number of participant nucleons, N_part. A local maximum is seen at N_part ~ 90, with corresponding energy density based on the Bjorken picture of \epsilon_Bj \tau ~ 2.4 GeV/(fm^2 c) with a transverse area size of 60 fm^2. This behavior may suggest a critical phase boundary based on the Ginzburg-Landau framework.
Weighted mean of corrected NBD $k$, $<k_c>$ as a function of pseudorapidity window size. The dominant sources systematic correlate with dead maps (corr.sys.(dead)) and two-track seperation cuts (corr.sys.(fake)). The total systematic error (uncorr.sys.) is the quadratic sum over all errors.
Weighted mean of corrected NBD $k$, $<k_c>$ as a function of pseudorapidity window size. The dominant sources systematic correlate with dead maps (corr.sys.(dead)) and two-track seperation cuts (corr.sys.(fake)). The total systematic error (uncorr.sys.) is the quadratic sum over all errors.
Fit results based on $k(\delta_{\eta})$=$1/{{2\alpha\xi}/{\delta_{\eta}}}$ ($\xi << \delta_{\eta}$).
The transverse single-spin asymmetries of neutral pions and non-identified charged hadrons have been measured at mid-rapidity in polarized proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The data cover a transverse momentum (p_T) range 0.5-5.0 GeV/c for charged hadrons and 1.0-5.0 GeV/c for neutral pions, at a Feynman-x (x_F) value of approximately zero. The asymmetries seen in this previously unexplored kinematic region are consistent with zero within statistical errors of a few percent. In addition, the inclusive charged hadron cross section at mid-rapidity from 0.5 < p_T < 7.0 GeV/c is presented and compared to NLO pQCD calculations. Successful description of the unpolarized cross section above ~2 GeV/c using NLO pQCD suggests that pQCD is applicable in the interpretation of the asymmetry results in the relevant kinematic range.
Invariant cross section vs. $p_T$ for the production of charged hadrons at mid-rapidity.
Mid-rapidity neutral pion transverse single-spin asymmetry, $A_N$, vs. transverse momentum.
Mid-rapidity charged hadron transverse single-spin asymmetry, $A_N$, vs. transverse momentum.
The first measurement of direct photons in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV is presented. The direct photon signal is extracted as a function of the Au+Au collision centrality and compared to NLO pQCD calculations. The direct photon yield is shown to scale with the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions for all centralities.
Double ratio of measured $(\gamma/\pi^0)_{Measured}$ invariant yield ratio to the background decay $(\gamma/\pi^0)_{Background}$ ratio as a function of $p_T$ for minimum bias and for five centralities of Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. The bin range is not an uncertainty in the x-axis because the actual uncertainty by having the finite bin width is corrected for by the bin-shift correction. These bins were constructed using the corrected finite values as centers.
Double ratio of measured $(\gamma/\pi^0)_{Measured}$ invariant yield ratio to the background decay $(\gamma/\pi^0)_{Background}$ ratio as a function of $p_T$ for minimum bias and for five centralities of Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. The bin range is not an uncertainty in the x-axis because the actual uncertainty by having the finite bin width is corrected for by the bin-shift correction. These bins were constructed using the corrected finite values as centers.
Direct $\gamma$ invariant yields as a function of transverse momentum for 9 centrality selections and minimum bias Au+AU collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. Data with no errors represents 90% confidence level upper limit. The bin range is not an uncertainty in the x-axis because the actual uncertainty by having the finite bin width is corrected for by the bin-shift correction. These bins were constructed using the corrected finite values as centers.
Bose-Einstein correlations of identically charged pion pairs were measured by the PHENIX experiment at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 200 GeV. The Bertsch-Pratt radius parameters were determined as a function of the transverse momentum of the pair and as a function of the centrality of the collision. Using the \it{full} Coulomb correction, the ratio $R_{\rm out}/R_{\rm side}$ is smaller than unity for $
Panel (a) and (b) show one-dimensional correlation functions for $\pi^+\pi^+$ and $\pi^-\pi^-$. The bottom figures show the three-dimensional correlation function for $\pi^-\pi^-$ with the full Coulomb (open circle) and without Coulomb (filled triangle) corrections for 0.2 < $k_T$ < 2.0 GeV/$c$ for 0-30% centrality. The projection of the 3-D correlation functions are averaged over the lowest 40 MeV in the orthogonal directions. The error bars are statistical only. The lines overlaid on the open circles (filled triangles) correspond to fits to Eq. 1 (Eq. 2) over the entire distribution. Panel (c) shows the one-dimensional correlation function of unlike-signed pions for 0.2 < $k_T$ < 2.0 GeV/$c$. The two overlaid histograms show calculations for the full (dashed) and the 50% partial (solid) Coulomb corrections. $<k_T>$ ~ 0.45 ($\pm$0.17) GeV/$c$ and $<N_{part}>$ ~ 281 ($\pm$4).
The $k_T$ dependence of the Bertsch-Pratt radius parameters and $\lambda$ for charged pions for 0-30% centrality. Filled triangles show the results from fits to a core-halo structure by Eq. 2, with statistical error bars and systematic error bands. Open circles and squares show the results from the full (Eq. 1) and 50% partial (Eq. 3) Coulomb corrections with statistical error bars, respectively. Results at 130 GeV by PHENIX are given by filled circles.
The $k_T$ dependence of the Bertsch-Pratt radius parameters and $\lambda$ for charged pions for 0-30% centrality. Filled triangles show the results from fits to a core-halo structure by Eq. 2, with statistical error bars and systematic error bands. Open circles and squares show the results from the full (Eq. 1) and 50% partial (Eq. 3) Coulomb corrections with statistical error bars, respectively. Results at 130 GeV by PHENIX are given by filled circles.
New measurements are presented for charged hadron azimuthal correlations at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 62.4 and 200 GeV. They are compared to earlier measurements obtained at sqrt(s_NN) = 130 GeV and in Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 17.2 GeV. Sizeable anisotropies are observed with centrality and transverse momentum (p_T) dependence characteristic of elliptic flow (v_2). For a broad range of centralities, the observed magnitudes and trends of the differential anisotropy, v_2(p_T), change very little over the collision energy range sqrt(s_NN) = 62-200 GeV, indicating saturation of the excitation function for v_2 at these energies. Such a saturation may be indicative of the dominance of a very soft equation of state for sqrt(s_NN) = 62-200 GeV.
Assorted-$p_T$ correlation functions (0.65 < $p_{T,ref}$ < 2.5 GeV/$c$) for charged hadrons of 0.5 < $p_T$ < 0.7 GeV/$c$ and 1.0 < $p_T$ < 1.5 obtained in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{S_{NN}}$ = 62.4 GeV.
Differential anisotropy $v_2$($p_T$) for charged hadrons in Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV obtained via cumulants method
Differential anisotropy $v_2$($p_T$) for charged hadrons in Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV obtained via correlation function method