We report new STAR measurements of mid-rapidity yields for the $\Lambda$, $\bar{\Lambda}$, $K^{0}_{S}$, $\Xi^{-}$, $\bar{\Xi}^{+}$, $\Omega^{-}$, $\bar{\Omega}^{+}$ particles in Cu+Cu collisions at \sNN{200}, and mid-rapidity yields for the $\Lambda$, $\bar{\Lambda}$, $K^{0}_{S}$ particles in Au+Au at \sNN{200}. We show that at a given number of participating nucleons, the production of strange hadrons is higher in Cu+Cu collisions than in Au+Au collisions at the same center-of-mass energy. We find that aspects of the enhancement factors for all particles can be described by a parameterization based on the fraction of participants that undergo multiple collisions.
$K^0_S$ invariant mass spectra from Au+Au $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV collisions, where $|y| < 0.5$. The uncertainties on the spectra points are statistical and systematic combined.
$\Lambda$ and $\bar{\Lambda}$ invariant mass spectra from Au+Au $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV collisions, where $|y| < 0.5$. The $\Lambda$ and $\bar{\Lambda}$ yields have not been feed down subtracted from weak decays. The uncertainties on the spectra points are statistical and systematic combined.
We report transverse momentum ($p_{T} \leq15$ GeV/$c$) spectra of $\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p$, $\bar{p}$, $K_{S}^{0}$, and $\rho^{0}$ at mid-rapidity in p+p and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV. Perturbative QCD calculations are consistent with $\pi^{\pm}$ spectra in p+p collisions but do not reproduce $K$ and $p(\bar{p})$ spectra. The observed decreasing antiparticle-to-particle ratios with increasing $p_T$ provide experimental evidence for varying quark and gluon jet contributions to high-$p_T$ hadron yields. The relative hadron abundances in Au+Au at $p_{T}{}^{>}_{\sim}8$ GeV/$c$ are measured to be similar to the p+p results, despite the expected Casimir effect for parton energy loss.
The invariant yields $d^2N/(2\pi p_T dp_T dy)$ of $\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p$, and $\bar{p}$ from non-singly diffractive p+p collisions ($\sigma_{NSD} = 30.0 \pm 3.5$ mb), and NLO calculations with AKK [9] and DSS [10] FF. The uncertainty of yields due to the scale dependence as evaluated in [10] is about a factor of 2. Bars and boxes (bands) represent statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively.
The invariant yields $d^2N/(2\pi p_T dp_T dy)$ of $K^0_S$ from non-singly diffractive p+p collisions ($\sigma_{NSD} = 30.0 \pm 3.5$ mb), and NLO calculations with AKK [9] and DSS [10] FF. The uncertainty of yields due to the scale dependence as evaluated in [10] is about a factor of 2. Bars and boxes (bands) represent statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively.
The invariant yields $d^2N/(2\pi p_T dp_T dy)$ of $\rho^0$ from non-singly diffractive p+p collisions ($\sigma_{NSD} = 30.0 \pm 3.5$ mb), and NLO calculations with AKK [9] and DSS [10] FF. The uncertainty of yields due to the scale dependence as evaluated in [10] is about a factor of 2. Bars and boxes (bands) represent statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively.
Identified charged pion, kaon, and proton spectra are used to explore the system size dependence of bulk freeze-out properties in Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 and 62.4 GeV. The data are studied with hydrodynamically-motivated Blast-wave and statistical model frameworks in order to characterize the freeze-out properties of the system. The dependence of freeze-out parameters on beam energy and collision centrality is discussed. Using the existing results from Au+Au and $pp$ collisions, the dependence of freeze-out parameters on the system size is also explored. This multi-dimensional systematic study furthers our understanding of the QCD phase diagram revealing the importance of the initial geometrical overlap of the colliding ions. The analysis of Cu+Cu collisions, which expands the system size dependence studies from Au+Au data with detailed measurements in the smaller system, shows that the bulk freeze-out properties of charged particles studied here scale with the total charged particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity, suggesting the relevance of initial state effects.
The STAR Collaboration at RHIC has measured two-pion correlation functions from p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. Spatial scales are extracted via a femtoscopic analysis of the correlations, though this analysis is complicated by the presence of strong non-femtoscopic effects. Our results are put into the context of the world dataset of femtoscopy in hadron-hadron collisions. We present the first direct comparison of femtoscopy in p+p and heavy ion collisions, under identical analysis and detector conditions.
Vector mesons may be photoproduced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions when a virtual photon emitted by one nucleus scatters from the other nucleus, emerging as a vector meson. The STAR Collaboration has previously presented measurements of coherent $\rho^0$ photoproduction at center of mass energies of 130 GeV and 200 GeV in AuAu collisions. Here, we present a measurement of the cross section at 62.4 GeV; we find that the cross section for coherent $\rho^0$ photoproduction with nuclear breakup is $10.5\pm1.5\pm 1.6$ mb at 62.4 GeV. The cross-section ratio between 200 GeV and 62.4 GeV is $2.8\pm0.6$, less than is predicted by most theoretical models. It is, however, proportionally much larger than the previously observed $15\pm 55$% increase between 130 GeV and 200 GeV.
We present the measurement of non-photonic electron production at high transverse momentum ($p_T > $ 2.5 GeV/$c$) in $p$ + $p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV using data recorded during 2005 and 2008 by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The measured cross-sections from the two runs are consistent with each other despite a large difference in photonic background levels due to different detector configurations. We compare the measured non-photonic electron cross-sections with previously published RHIC data and pQCD calculations. Using the relative contributions of B and D mesons to non-photonic electrons, we determine the integrated cross sections of electrons ($\frac{e^++e^-}{2}$) at 3 GeV/$c < p_T <~$10 GeV/$c$ from bottom and charm meson decays to be ${d\sigma_{(B\to e)+(B\to D \to e)} \over dy_e}|_{y_e=0}$ = 4.0$\pm0.5$({\rm stat.})$\pm1.1$({\rm syst.}) nb and ${d\sigma_{D\to e} \over dy_e}|_{y_e=0}$ = 6.2$\pm0.7$({\rm stat.})$\pm1.5$({\rm syst.}) nb, respectively.
We present results on strange and multi-strange particle production in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=62.4$ GeV as measured with the STAR detector at RHIC. Mid-rapidity transverse momentum spectra and integrated yields of $K^{0}_{S}$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi$, $\Omega$ and their anti-particles are presented for different centrality classes. The particle yields and ratios follow a smooth energy dependence. Chemical freeze-out parameters, temperature, baryon chemical potential and strangeness saturation factor obtained from the particle yields are presented. Intermediate transverse momentum ($p_T$) phenomena are discussed based on the ratio of the measured baryon-to-meson spectra and nuclear modification factor. The centrality dependence of various measurements presented show a similar behavior as seen in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV.
This paper reports results for directed flow $v_{1}$ and elliptic flow $v_{2}$ of charged particles in Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$ 22.4 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The measurements are for the 0-60% most central collisions, using charged particles observed in the STAR detector. Our measurements extend to 22.4 GeV Cu+Cu collisions the prior observation that $v_1$ is independent of the system size at 62.4 and 200 GeV, and also extend the scaling of $v_1$ with $\eta/y_{\rm beam}$ to this system. The measured $v_2(p_T)$ in Cu+Cu collisions is similar for $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 22.4-200$ GeV. We also report a comparison with results from transport model (UrQMD and AMPT) calculations. The model results do not agree quantitatively with the measured $v_1(\eta), v_2(p_T)$ and $v_2(\eta)$.
We report on K*0 production at mid-rapidity in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}} = 62.4 and 200 GeV collected by the Solenoid Tracker at RHIC (STAR) detector. The K*0 is reconstructed via the hadronic decays K*0 \to K+ pi- and \bar{K*0} \to K-pi+. Transverse momentum, pT, spectra are measured over a range of pT extending from 0.2 GeV/c to 5 GeV/c. The center of mass energy and system size dependence of the rapidity density, dN/dy, and the average transverse momentum,
The contribution of $B$ meson decays to non-photonic electrons, which are mainly produced by the semi-leptonic decays of heavy flavor mesons, in $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 200 GeV has been measured using azimuthal correlations between non-photonic electrons and hadrons. The extracted $B$ decay contribution is approximately 50% at a transverse momentum of $p_{T} \geq 5$ GeV/$c$. These measurements constrain the nuclear modification factor for electrons from $B$ and $D$ meson decays. The result indicates that $B$ meson production in heavy ion collisions is also suppressed at high $p_{T}$.