Identified charged particle spectra of $\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p$ and $\pbar$ at mid-rapidity ($|y|<0.1$) measured by the $\dedx$ method in the STAR-TPC are reported for $pp$ and d+Au collisions at $\snn = 200$ GeV and for Au+Au collisions at 62.4 GeV, 130 GeV, and 200 GeV. ... [Shortened for arXiv list. Full abstract in manuscript.]
We study the beam-energy and system-size dependence of \phi meson production (using the hadronic decay mode \phi -- K+K-) by comparing the new results from Cu+Cu collisions and previously reported Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_NN} = 62.4 and 200 GeV measured in the STAR experiment at RHIC. Data presented are from mid-rapidity (|y|<0.5) for 0.4 < pT < 5 GeV/c. At a given beam energy, the transverse momentum distributions for \phi mesons are observed to be similar in yield and shape for Cu+Cu and Au+Au colliding systems with similar average numbers of participating nucleons. The \phi meson yields in nucleus-nucleus collisions, normalised by the average number of participating nucleons, are found to be enhanced relative to those from p+p collisions with a different trend compared to strange baryons. The enhancement for \phi mesons is observed to be higher at \sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV compared to 62.4 GeV. These observations for the produced \phi(s\bar{s}) mesons clearly suggest that, at these collision energies, the source of enhancement of strange hadrons is related to the formation of a dense partonic medium in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions and cannot be alone due to canonical suppression of their production in smaller systems.
Midrapidity $(|y| < 0.5)$ transverse momentum spectra of $\phi$ mesons for various collision centrality classes for $Cu+Cu$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=62.4$ and 200 GeV. To study the system size dependence, comparison of $40-50\%$ $Au+Au$ spectra to $10-20\%$ $Cu+Cu$ spectra at 200 GeV, and $40-60\%$ $Au+Au$ spectra to $20-30\%$ $Cu+Cu$ spectra at 62.4 GeV are shown. These centralities for the two colliding systems have similar $\langle N_{\scriptsize{\mbox{part}}}\rangle$ values as outlined in Table 2. The errors represent the statistical and systematic errors added in quadrature. They are found to be within the symbol size. The spectra are fitted to a Levy function discussed in the text.
Midrapidity $(|y| < 0.5)$ transverse momentum spectra of $\phi$ mesons for various collision centrality classes for $Cu+Cu$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=62.4$ and 200 GeV. To study the system size dependence, comparison of $40-50\%$ $Au+Au$ spectra to $10-20\%$ $Cu+Cu$ spectra at 200 GeV, and $40-60\%$ $Au+Au$ spectra to $20-30\%$ $Cu+Cu$ spectra at 62.4 GeV are shown. These centralities for the two colliding systems have similar $\langle N_{\scriptsize{\mbox{part}}}\rangle$ values as outlined in Table 2. The errors represent the statistical and systematic errors added in quadrature. They are found to be within the symbol size. The spectra are fitted to a Levy function discussed in the text.
Upper panels. $N_{\scriptsize{\mbox{part}}}$ scaled ($R^{N_{\scriptsize{\mbox{part}}}}_{AA}$) nuclear modification factors as a function of $p_{T}$ of $\phi$ mesons for $0-10\%$ and $20-30\%$ $Cu+Cu$ and $Au+Au$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV. Lower panel. Same as above for $N_{\scriptsize{\mbox{bin}}}$ scaled ($R^{N_{\scriptsize{\mbox{bin}}}}_{AA}$) nuclear modification factor. The error bars represent the statistical and systematic errors added in quadrature. The shaded band in upper panel around 1 at $p_{T}=4.5-5.5$ GeV/$c$ in the right side reflects the uncertainty in $N_{\scriptsize{\mbox{part}}}$ and that on the lower panel for $N_{\scriptsize{\mbox{bin}}}$ calculation for central $Au+Au$ collisions. The respective uncertainties for central $Cu+Cu$ collisions are of similar order.
We report a measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL and the differential cross section for inclusive midrapidity jet production in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. The cross section data cover transverse momenta 5 < pT < 50 GeV/c and agree with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD evaluations. The A_LL data cover 5 < pT < 17 GeV/c and disfavor at 98% C.L. maximal positive gluon polarization in the polarized nucleon.
(a) Inclusive differential cross section for p+p -> jet +X at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV versus jet pT for a jet cone radius of 0.4. The symbols show MB (open squares) and HT (filled circles) data from the years 2003 and 2004 combined. The horizontal bars indicate the ranges of the pT intervals. The curve shows a NLO calculation. (b) Comparison of theory and data. The band indicates the experimental systematic uncertainty. The upper (lower) dashed line indicates the relative change of the NLO calculation when it is evaluated at &mu = pT/2 (&mu = 2pT).
(a) Inclusive differential cross section for p+p -> jet +X at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV versus jet pT for a jet cone radius of 0.4. The symbols show MB (open squares) and HT (filled circles) data from the years 2003 and 2004 combined. The horizontal bars indicate the ranges of the pT intervals. The curve shows a NLO calculation. (b) Comparison of theory and data. The band indicates the experimental systematic uncertainty. The upper (lower) dashed line indicates the relative change of the NLO calculation when it is evaluated at &mu = pT/2 (&mu = 2pT).
The longitudinal double-spin asymmetry ALL in p+p-> jet +X at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV versus jet pT. The uncertainties on the data points are statistical. The gray band indicates the systematic uncertainty from the beam polarization measurement, and the hatched band the total systematic uncertainty. The curves show predictions based on deep-inelastic scattering parametrizations of gluon polarization.
We report a new STAR measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL for inclusive jet production at mid-rapidity in polarized p+p collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The data, which cover jet transverse momenta 5 < p_T < 30 GeV/c, are substantially more precise than previous measurements. They provide significant new constraints on the gluon spin contribution to the nucleon spin through the comparison to predictions derived from one global fit of polarized deep-inelastic scattering measurements.
Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry $A_{LL}$ for inclusive jet production at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV versus jet $p_{T}$. The points show results for particle jets with statistical error bars, while the curves show predictions for NLO parton jets from one global analysis [14]. The gray boxes indicate the systematic uncertainties on the measured $A_{LL}$ values (vertical) and in the corrections to the measured jet $p_{T}$ and the conversion between particle jet and NLO parton jet $p_{T}$ (horizontal).
We report the measurement of Lamda and Anti-Lamda yields and inverse slope parameters in d + Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV at forward and backward rapidities (y = +- 2.75), using data from the STAR forward time projection chambers. The contributions of different processes to baryon transport and particle production are probed exploiting the inherent asymmetry of the d + Au system. Comparisons to model calculations show that the baryon transport on the deuteron side is consistent with multiple collisions of the deuteron nucleons with gold participants. On the gold side HIJING based models do not describe the measured particle yields while models with initial state nuclear effects and/or hadronic rescattering do. The Multi-Chain Model can provide a good description of the net baryon density in d + Au collisions at RHIC, and the derived parameters of the model agree with those from nuclear collisions at lower energies.
$\overline{\Lambda}/\Lambda$ ratio and net $\Lambda$ and $\overline{\Lambda}$ yields as a function of collision centrality on both the deuteron (left) and the gold side (right). On the deuteron side, centrality is expressed by the number of collisions per deuteron participant, while on the gold side the number of Au participants is chosen. Only statistical errors are shown. The increase in baryon number transport with centrality, shown by the net $\Lambda$ yield, is matched by the increase of $\overline{\Lambda}$-$\Lambda$ pair production, thus keeping the $\overline{\Lambda}/\Lambda$ ratio constant over a wide centrality range.
$\overline{\Lambda}/\Lambda$ ratio and net $\Lambda$ and $\overline{\Lambda}$ yields as a function of collision centrality on both the deuteron (left) and the gold side (right). On the deuteron side, centrality is expressed by the number of collisions per deuteron participant, while on the gold side the number of Au participants is chosen. Only statistical errors are shown. The increase in baryon number transport with centrality, shown by the net $\Lambda$ yield, is matched by the increase of $\overline{\Lambda}$-$\Lambda$ pair production, thus keeping the $\overline{\Lambda}/\Lambda$ ratio constant over a wide centrality range.
$\overline{\Lambda}/\Lambda$ ratio and net $\Lambda$ and $\overline{\Lambda}$ yields as a function of collision centrality on both the deuteron (left) and the gold side (right). On the deuteron side, centrality is expressed by the number of collisions per deuteron participant, while on the gold side the number of Au participants is chosen. Only statistical errors are shown. The increase in baryon number transport with centrality, shown by the net $\Lambda$ yield, is matched by the increase of $\overline{\Lambda}$-$\Lambda$ pair production, thus keeping the $\overline{\Lambda}/\Lambda$ ratio constant over a wide centrality range.
We present STAR measurements of charged hadron production as a function of centrality in Au + Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 130 GeV. The measurements cover a phase space region of 0.2 < p_T < 6.0 GeV/c in transverse momentum and -1 < eta < 1 in pseudorapidity. Inclusive transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons in the pseudorapidity region 0.5 < |eta| < 1 are reported and compared to our previously published results for |eta| < 0.5. No significant difference is seen for inclusive p_T distributions of charged hadrons in these two pseudorapidity bins. We measured dN/deta distributions and truncated mean p_T in a region of p_T > p_T^cut, and studied the results in the framework of participant and binary scaling. No clear evidence is observed for participant scaling of charged hadron yield in the measured p_T region. The relative importance of hard scattering process is investigated through binary scaling fraction of particle production.
Ratio of the number of participants Npart or the number of binary collisions Nbin determined from different models to that from Monte Carlo Glauber calculation.
We determine rapidity asymmetry in the production of charged pions, protons and anti-protons for large transverse momentum (pT) for d+Au collisions at \sqrt s_NN = 200 GeV. The identified hadrons are measured in the rapidity regions |y| < 0.5 and 0.5 < |y| < 1.0 for the pT range 2.5 < pT < 10 GeV/c. We observe significant rapidity asymmetry for charged pion and proton+anti-proton production in both rapidity regions. The asymmetry is larger for 0.5 < |y| < 1.0 than for |y|< 0.5 and is almost independent of particle type. The measurements are compared to various model predictions employing multiple scattering, energy loss, nuclear shadowing, saturation effects, and recombination, and also to a phenomenological parton model. We find that asymmetries are sensitive to model parameters and show model-preference. The rapidity dependence of \pi^{-}/\pi^{+} and \bar{p}/p ratios in peripheral d+Au and forward neutron-tagged events are used to study the contributions of valence quarks and gluons to particle production at high pT. The results are compared to calculations based on NLO pQCD and other measurements of quark fragmentation functions.
High transverse-momentum spectra ($p_{T} > 2.5$ GeV/c) of charged pions, protons, and antiprotons for the rapidity regions $|y| < 0.5$ (solid symbols) and $0.5 < |y| < 1.0$ (open symbols) for $d+Au$ collisions and various event centrality classes at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV.
High transverse-momentum spectra ($p_{T} > 2.5$ GeV/c) of charged pions, protons, and antiprotons for the rapidity regions $|y| < 0.5$ (solid symbols) and $0.5 < |y| < 1.0$ (open symbols) for $d+Au$ collisions and various event centrality classes at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV.
High transverse-momentum spectra ($p_{T} > 2.5$ GeV/c) of charged pions, protons, and antiprotons for the rapidity regions $|y| < 0.5$ (solid symbols) and $0.5 < |y| < 1.0$ (open symbols) for $d+Au$ collisions and various event centrality classes at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV.
We present results for the measurement of $\phi$ meson production via its charged kaon decay channel $\phi \to K^+K^-$ in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=62.4$, 130, 200 GeV, and in p+p and d+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV from the STAR experiment at RHIC. The mid-rapidity ($|y|<0.5$) $\phi$ meson spectra in central Au+Au collisions are found to be well described by a single exponential distribution. On the other hand, the spectra from p+p, d+Au and peripheral Au+Au collisions show power-law tails at intermediate and high transverse momenta ($p_{T}$) and are described better by Levy distributions. The constant $\phi/K^-$ yield ratio vs. beam species, collision centrality and colliding energy is in contradiction with expectations from models having kaon coalescence as the dominant mechanism for $\phi$ production at RHIC. The $\Omega/\phi$ yield ratio as a function of $p_{T}$ is consistent with a model based on the recombination of thermal $s$ quarks up to $p_{T}\sim 4$ GeV/c, but disagrees at higher transverse momenta. The measured nuclear modification factor, $R_{dAu}$, for the $\phi$ meson increases above unity at intermediate $p_{T}$, similar to that for pions and protons, while $R_{AA}$ is suppressed due to jet quenching in central Au+Au collisions. Number of constituent quark scaling of both $R_{cp}$ and $v_{2}$ for the $\phi$ meson with respect to other hadrons in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV at intermediate $p_{T}$ is observed. These observations support quark coalescence as being the dominant mechanism of hadronization in the intermediate $p_{T}$ region at RHIC.
We present the first data on $e^+e^-$ pair production accompanied by nuclear breakup in ultra-peripheral gold-gold collisions at a center of mass energy of 200 GeV per nucleon pair. The nuclear breakup requirement selects events at small impact parameters, where higher-order corrections to the pair production cross section should be enhanced. We compare the pair kinematic distributions with two calculations: one based on the equivalent photon approximation, and the other using lowest-order quantum electrodynamics (QED): the latter includes the photon virtuality. The cross section, pair mass, rapidity and angular distributions are in good agreement with both calculations. The pair transverse momentum, $p_T$, spectrum agrees with the QED calculation, but not with the equivalent photon approach. We set limits on higher-order contributions to the cross section. The $e^+$ and $e^-$ $p_T$ spectra are similar, with no evidence for interference effects due to higher-order diagrams.
We present first measurements of the $\phi$-meson elliptic flow ($v_{2}(p_{T})$) and high statistics $p_{T}$ distributions for different centralities from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. In minimum bias collisions the $v_{2}$ of the $\phi$ meson is consistent with the trend observed for mesons. The ratio of the yields of the $\Omega$ to those of the $\phi$ as a function of transverse momentum is consistent with a model based on the recombination of thermal $s$ quarks up to $p_{T}\sim 4$ GeV/$c$, but disagrees at higher momenta. The nuclear modification factor ($R_{CP}$) of $\phi$ follows the trend observed in the $K^{0}_{S}$ mesons rather than in $\Lambda$ baryons, supporting baryon-meson scaling. Since $\phi$-mesons are made via coalescence of seemingly thermalized $s$ quarks in central Au+Au collisions, the observations imply hot and dense matter with partonic collectivity has been formed at RHIC.
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