Partons traversing the strongly interacting medium produced in heavy-ion collisions are expected to lose energy depending on their color charge and mass. We measure the nuclear modification factors for charm- and bottom-decay electrons, defined as the ratio of yields, scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions, in $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions to $p$+$p$ collisions ($R_{\rm AA}$), or in central to peripheral Au+Au collisions ($R_{\rm CP}$). We find the bottom-decay electron $R_{\rm AA}$ and $R_{\rm CP}$ to be significantly higher than that of charm-decay electrons. Model calculations including mass-dependent parton energy loss in a strongly coupled medium are consistent with the measured data. These observations provide clear evidence of mass ordering of charm and bottom quark energy loss when traversing through the strongly coupled medium created in heavy-ion collisions.
Fit to the $\rm log_{10}(DCA/cm)$ of candidate electrons with $p_{\rm T}$ $\in$ [3.5,4.5] GeV/$c$ in 0-80% Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=200$ GeV, where the DCA is defined as the 3D distance-of-closest approach of the track to the primary vertex. The solid blue line shows the full template fit, and the various other lines show the individual components. The bottom panel shows the residual distribution of the template fit scaled by the statistical uncertainties.
Invariant yield of the electrons from decays of prompt $J/\psi$, $\Upsilon$, Drell-Yan and light vector mesons in 0-80% Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Invariant yield of heavy flavor hadron decayed electrons in 0-80% Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
The PHENIX collaboration presents a systematic study of $\pi^0$ production from $p$ $+$ $p$, $p$ $+$Al, $p$ $+$Au, $d$ $+$Au, and $^{3}$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. Measurements were performed with different centrality selections as well as the total inelastic, 0%--100%, selection for all collision systems. For 0%--100% collisions, the nuclear modification factors, $R_{xA}$, are consistent with unity for $p_T$ above 8 GeV/$c$, but exhibit an enhancement in peripheral collisions and a suppression in central collisions. The enhancement and suppression characteristics are similar for all systems for the same centrality class. It is shown that for high-$p_T$-$\pi^0$ production, the nucleons in the $d$ and $^3$He interact mostly independently with the Au nucleus and that the counter intuitive centrality dependence is likely due to a physical correlation between multiplicity and the presence of a hard scattering process. These observations disfavor models where parton energy loss has a significant contribution to nuclear modifications in small systems. Nuclear modifications at lower $p_T$ resemble the Cronin effect -- an increase followed by a peak in central or inelastic collisions and a plateau in peripheral collisions. The peak height has a characteristic ordering by system size as $p$ $+$Au $>$ $d$ $+$Au $>$ $^{3}$He$+$Au $>$ $p$ $+$Al. For collisions with Au ions, current calculations based on initial state cold nuclear matter effects result in the opposite order, suggesting the presence of other contributions to nuclear modifications, in particular at lower $p_T$.
Differential cross section of $\pi^0$ in p+p collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV
Invariant yield of $\pi^0$ from (a) p+Al, (b) p+Au, (c) d+Au, and (d) $^{3}$HeAu in different centrality selections at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV
Nuclear modification factors from inelastic (a) p+Al, (b) p+Au, (c) d+Au, and (d) $^{3}$HeAu collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV. The right boxes are the $N_{coll}$ uncertainties from the Glauber model, while the left box represents the overall normalization uncertainty from p+p collisions
In 2015 the PHENIX collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider recorded $p+p$, $p+$Al, and $p+$Au collision data at center of mass energies of $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV with the proton beam(s) transversely polarized. At very forward rapidities $\eta>6.8$ relative to the polarized proton beam, neutrons were detected either inclusively or in (anti)correlation with detector activity related to hard collisions. The resulting single spin asymmetries, that were previously reported, have now been extracted as a function of the transverse momentum of the neutron as well as its longitudinal momentum fraction $x_F$. The explicit kinematic dependence, combined with the correlation information allows for a closer look at the interplay of different mechanisms suggested to describe these asymmetries, such as hadronic interactions or electromagnetic interactions in ultra-peripheral collisions, UPC. Events that are correlated with a hard collision indeed display a mostly negative asymmetry that increases in magnitude as a function of transverse momentum with only little dependence on $x_F$. In contrast, events that are not likely to have emerged from a hard collision display positive asymmetries for the nuclear collisions with a kinematic dependence that resembles that of a UPC based model. Because the UPC interaction depends strongly on the charge of the nucleus, those effects are very small for $p+p$ collisions, moderate for $p+$Al collisions, and large for $p+$Au collisions.
Measured forward neutron single spin asymmetries in p+p collisions as a function of pT in bins of xF
Measured forward neutron single spin asymmetries in p+Al collisions as a function of pT in bins of xF
Measured forward neutron single spin asymmetries in p+Au collisions as a function of pT in bins of xF
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.
$z_{g}$ 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
There is strong evidence for the formation of small droplets of quark-gluon plasma in $p/d/^{3}$He+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and in $p$+$p$/Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. In particular, the analysis of data at RHIC for different geometries obtained by varying the projectile size and shape has proven insightful. In the present analysis, we find excellent agreement with the previously published PHENIX at RHIC results on elliptical and triangular flow with an independent analysis via the two-particle correlation method, which has quite different systematic uncertainties and an independent code base. In addition, the results are extended to other detector combinations with different kinematic (pseudorapidity) coverage. These results provide additional constraints on contributions from nonflow and longitudinal decorrelations.
$v_2$ vs $p_T$, p+Au at 200 GeV, 0-5% central, BBCS-FVTXS-CNT detector combination
$v_2$ vs $p_T$, d+Au at 200 GeV, 0-5% central, BBCS-FVTXS-CNT detector combination
$v_2$ vs $p_T$, 3He+Au at 200 GeV, 0-5% central, BBCS-FVTXS-CNT detector combination
The chiral magnetic effect (CME) refers to charge separation along a strong magnetic field due to imbalanced chirality of quarks in local parity and charge-parity violating domains in quantum chromodynamics. The experimental measurement of the charge separation is made difficult by the presence of a major background from elliptic azimuthal anisotropy. This background and the CME signal have different sensitivities to the spectator and participant planes, and could thus be determined by measurements with respect to these planes. We report such measurements in Au+Au collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. It is found that the charge separation, with the flow background removed, is consistent with zero in peripheral (large impact parameter) collisions. Some indication of finite CME signals is seen in mid-central (intermediate impact parameter) collisions. Significant residual background effects may, however, still be present.
The centrality dependencies of the $v_{2}\{\psi_\mathrm{TPC}\}$ for Au+Au collision at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$=200 GeV.
The centrality dependencies of the $v_{2}\{\psi_\mathrm{ZDC}\}$ for Au+Au collision at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$=200 GeV.
The centrality dependencies of the $\Delta\gamma\{\psi_\mathrm{TPC}\}$ for Au+Au collision at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$=200 GeV.
Studying spin-momentum correlations in hadronic collisions offers a glimpse into a three-dimensional picture of proton structure. The transverse single-spin asymmetry for midrapidity isolated direct photons in $p^\uparrow+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV is measured with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Because direct photons in particular are produced from the hard scattering and do not interact via the strong force, this measurement is a clean probe of initial-state spin-momentum correlations inside the proton and is in particular sensitive to gluon interference effects within the proton. This is the first time direct photons have been used as a probe of spin-momentum correlations at RHIC. The uncertainties on the results are a fifty-fold improvement with respect to those of the one prior measurement for the same observable, from the Fermilab E704 experiment. These results constrain gluon spin-momentum correlations in transversely polarized protons.
The direct photon background fraction from Figure 1. This is the estimated fraction of photons in the isolated direct photon sample that came from either $\pi^0 \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ or $\eta \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ decays but the second decay photon is not measured and so these background photons are not eliminated by the tagging cut. These fractions are calculated for the PHENIX EMCal during the 2015 $p$+$p$ run
The transverse single-spin asymmetry of isolated direct photons for $|\eta|<0.35$ in $p^\uparrow$$+$$p$ collisions with $\sqrt{s} = 200$ GeV. This data appears in both Figure 2 and Table I. An additional scale uncertainty of 3.4% due to the polarization uncertainty is not included.
We report on the first measurement of charm-strange meson $D_s^{\pm}$ production at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$ = 200 GeV from the STAR experiment. The yield ratio between strange ($D_{s}^{\pm}$) and non-strange ($D^{0}$) open-charm mesons is presented and compared to model calculations. A significant enhancement, relative to a PYTHIA simulation of $p$+$p$ collisions, is observed in the $D_{s}^{\pm}/D^0$ yield ratio in Au+Au collisions over a large range of collision centralities. Model calculations incorporating abundant strange-quark production in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and coalescence hadronization qualitatively reproduce the data. The transverse-momentum integrated yield ratio of $D_{s}^{\pm}/D^0$ at midrapidity is consistent with a prediction from a statistical hadronization model with the parameters constrained by the yields of light and strange hadrons measured at the same collision energy. These results suggest that the coalescence of charm quarks with strange quarks in the QGP plays an important role in $D_{s}^{\pm}$ meson production in heavy-ion collisions.
The $KK\pi$ invariant mass distribution (Counts per 8 MeV/$c^{2}$ bin) for right-sign combinations in 0-80% Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$ = 200 GeV.
$D_s^{\pm}$ invariant yield as a function of $p_{T}$ in 0-10% centrality bin of Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$ = 200 GeV. The $p_T$ bins are 1.5 < $p_T$ < 2.5 GeV/c, 2.5 < $p_T$ < 3.5 GeV/c, 3.5 < $p_T$ < 5.0 GeV/c and 5.0 < $p_T$ < 8.0 GeV/c.
$D_s^{\pm}$ invariant yield as a function of $p_{T}$ in 10-40% centrality bin of Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$ = 200 GeV. The $p_T$ bins are 1.0 < $p_T$ < 2.0 GeV/c, 2.0 < $p_T$ < 2.5 GeV/c, 2.5 < $p_T$ < 3.5 GeV/c, 3.5 < $p_T$ < 5.0 GeV/c and 5.0 < $p_T$ < 8.0 GeV/c.
Global polarization of $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ hyperons has been measured for the first time in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV. The measurements of the $\Xi^-$ and $\bar{\Xi}^+$ hyperon polarization have been performed by two independent methods, via analysis of the angular distribution of the daughter particles in the parity violating weak decay $\Xi\rightarrow\Lambda+\pi$, as well as by measuring the polarization of the daughter $\Lambda$-hyperon, polarized via polarization transfer from its parent. The polarization, obtained by combining the results from the two methods and averaged over $\Xi^-$ and $\bar{\Xi}^+$, is measured to be $\langle P_\Xi \rangle = 0.47\pm0.10~({\rm stat.})\pm0.23~({\rm syst.})\,\%$ for the collision centrality 20%-80%. The $\langle P_\Xi \rangle$ is found to be slightly larger than the inclusive $\Lambda$ polarization and in reasonable agreement with a multi-phase transport model (AMPT). The $\langle P_\Xi \rangle$ is found to follow the centrality dependence of the vorticity predicted in the model, increasing toward more peripheral collisions. The global polarization of $\Omega$, $\langle P_\Omega \rangle = 1.11\pm0.87~({\rm stat.})\pm1.97~({\rm syst.})\,\%$ was obtained by measuring the polarization of daughter $\Lambda$ in the decay $\Omega \rightarrow \Lambda + K$, assuming the polarization transfer factor $C_{\Omega\Lambda}=1$.
$\Xi$ and $\Omega$ global polarization in Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV. Decay parameter from PDG2020, $\alpha_{\Xi}$=-$\alpha_{\bar{\Xi}}$=-0.401, is used.
The energy dependence of $\Lambda$ and $\bar{\Lambda}$ global polarization. Note that the results from previous measurements are rescaled using updated decay parameters (PDG2020), $\alpha_{\Lambda}$=0.732 and $\alpha_{\bar{\Lambda}}$=-0.758. The original data can be found in <a href="https://www.hepdata.net/record/ins1510474">this page</a>.
Centrality dependence of $\Xi$ global poalrization in Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV. Decay parameter from PDG2020, $\alpha_{\Xi}$=-$\alpha_{\bar{\Xi}}$=-0.401, is used.
In 2015, the PHENIX collaboration has measured very forward ($\eta>6.8$) single-spin asymmetries of inclusive neutrons in transversely polarized proton-proton and proton-nucleus collisions at a center of mass energy of 200 GeV. A previous publication from this data set concentrated on the nuclear dependence of such asymmetries. In this measurement the explicit transverse-momentum dependence of inclusive neutron single spin asymmetries for proton-proton collisions is extracted using a bootstrapping-unfolding technique on the transverse momenta. This explicit transverse-momentum dependence will help improve the understanding of the mechanisms that create these asymmetries.
Measured and unfolded forward neutron single spin asymmetries using 3rd order polynomial parameterization in unfolding
Measured and unfolded forward neutron single spin asymmetries using a Power law parameterization in unfolding
Measured and unfolded forward neutron single spin asymmetries using an exponential parameterization in unfolding
Forum