The PHENIX Collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured open heavy flavor production in Cu$+$Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV through the measurement of electrons at midrapidity that originate from semileptonic decays of charm and bottom hadrons. In peripheral Cu$+$Cu collisions an enhanced production of electrons is observed relative to $p$$+$$p$ collisions scaled by the number of binary collisions. In the transverse momentum range from 1 to 5 GeV/$c$ the nuclear modification factor is $R_{AA}$$\sim$1.4. As the system size increases to more central Cu$+$Cu collisions, the enhancement gradually disappears and turns into a suppression. For $p_T>3$ GeV/$c$, the suppression reaches $R_{AA}$$\sim$0.8 in the most central collisions. The $p_T$ and centrality dependence of $R_{AA}$ in Cu$+$Cu collisions agree quantitatively with $R_{AA}$ in $d+$Au and Au$+$Au collisions, if compared at similar number of participating nucleons $\langle N_{\rm part} \rangle$.
The $p_T$ spectra of electrons from the decays of open heavy flavor hadrons produced in Cu+Cu collisions, separated by centrality.
The $p_T$ spectra of electrons from the decays of open heavy flavor hadrons produced in Cu+Cu collisions, separated by centrality.
The $p_T$ spectra of electrons from the decays of open heavy flavor hadrons produced in Cu+Cu collisions, separated by centrality.
The azimuthal anisotropy coefficients v_2 and v_4 of pi^0 and eta mesons are measured in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV, as a function of transverse momentum p_T (1-14 GeV/c) and centrality. The extracted v_2 coefficients are found to be consistent between the two meson species over the measured p_T range. The ratio of v_4/v_2^2 for pi^0 mesons is found to be independent of p_T for 1-9 GeV/c, implying a lack of sensitivity of the ratio to the change of underlying physics with p_T. Furthermore, the ratio of v_4/v_2^2 is systematically larger in central collisions, which may reflect the combined effects of fluctuations in the initial collision geometry and finite viscosity in the evolving medium.
$\eta$ meson $v_2, 0-20\%$ centrality
$\eta$ meson $v_2, 20-60\%$ centrality
$\pi^0$ meson $v_4, 0-20\%$ centrality
The transverse momentum (p_T) spectra and ratios of identified charged hadrons (\pi^+/-, K^+/-, p, p^bar) produced in sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV Au+Au and d+Au collisions are reported in five different centrality classes for each collision species. The measurements of pions and protons are reported up to p_T=6 GeV/c (5 GeV/c), and the measurements of kaons are reported up to p_T=4 GeV/c (3.5 GeV/c) in Au+Au (d+Au) collisions. In the intermediate p_T region, between 2--5 GeV/c, a significant enhancement of baryon to meson ratios compared to those measured in p+p collisions is observed. This enhancement is present in both Au+Au and d+Au collisions, and increases as the collisions become more central. We compare a class of peripheral Au+Au collisions with a class of central d+Au collisions which have a comparable number of participating nucleons and binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The p_T dependent particle ratios for these classes display a remarkable similarity, which is then discussed.
kaon AuAu Invariant yields versus $p_T$
kaon dAu Invariant yields versus $p_T$
pion AuAu Invariant yields versus $p_T$
The jet fragmentation function is measured with direct photon-hadron correlations in p+p and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. The p_T of the photon is an excellent approximation to the initial p_T of the jet and the ratio z_T=p_T^h/p_T^\gamma is used as a proxy for the jet fragmentation function. A statistical subtraction is used to extract the direct photon-hadron yields in Au+Au collisions while a photon isolation cut is applied in p+p. I_ AA, the ratio of jet fragment yield in Au+Au to that in p+p, indicates modification of the jet fragmentation function. Suppression, most likely due to energy loss in the medium, is seen at high z_T. The fragment yield at low z_T is enhanced at large angles. Such a trend is expected from redistribution of the lost energy into increased production of low-momentum particles.
Direct photon-hadron pair per-trigger yields vs Delta-phi (Au+Au and p+p)
Integrated per-trigger yields and I_AA vs xi
Integrated per-trigger yields and I_AA vs xi
The energy dependence of the single-transverse-spin asymmetry, A_N, and the cross section for neutron production at very forward angles were measured in the PHENIX experiment at RHIC for polarized p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. The neutrons were observed in forward detectors covering an angular range of up to 2.2 mrad. We report results for neutrons with momentum fraction of x_F=0.45 to 1.0. The energy dependence of the measured cross sections were consistent with x_F scaling, compared to measurements by an ISR experiment which measured neutron production in unpolarized p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=30.6--62.7 GeV. The cross sections for large x_F neutron production for p+p collisions, as well as those in e+p collisions measured at HERA, are described by a pion exchange mechanism. The observed forward neutron asymmetries were large, reaching A_N=-0.08+/-0.02 for x_F=0.8; the measured backward asymmetries, for negative x_F, were consistent with zero. The observed asymmetry for forward neutron production is discussed within the pion exchange framework, with interference between the spin-flip amplitude due to the pion exchange and nonflip amplitudes from all Reggeon exchanges. Within the pion exchange description, the measured neutron asymmetry is sensitive to the contribution of other Reggeon exchanges even for small amplitudes.
The cross section results for forward neutron production in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV are shown. Two different forms, exponential and Gaussian, were used for the $p_T$ distribution. The integrated $p_T$ region for each bin is 0 < $p_T$ < 0.11$x_F$ GeV/$c$.
The $x_F$ dependence of $A_N$ for neutron production in the ZDC trigger sample.
The $x_F$ dependence of $A_N$ for neutron production for the ZDC$\otimes$BBC trigger sample.
The PHENIX experiment has measured the production of neutral pions in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. The new data offer a fourfold increase in recorded luminosity, providing higher precision and a larger reach in transverse momentum, p_T, to 20 GeV/c. The production ratio of eta/pi^0 is 0.46+/-0.01(stat)+/-0.05(syst), constant with p_T and collision centrality. The observed ratio is consistent with earlier measurements, as well as with the p+p and d+Au values. The production of pi^0 is suppressed by a factor of 5, as in earlier findings. However, with the improved statistical precision a small but significant rise of the nuclear modification factor, R_AA, vs p_T, with a slope of 0.0106+/-^(0.0034)_(0.0029)[GeV/c]^-1, is discernible in central collisions. A phenomenological extraction of the average fractional parton energy loss shows a decrease with increasing p_T. To study the path length dependence of suppression, the pi^0 yield was measured at different angles with respect to the event plane; a strong azimuthal dependence of the pi^0 R_AA is observed. The data are compared to theoretical models of parton energy loss as a function of the path length, L, in the medium. Models based on pQCD are insufficient to describe the data, while a hybrid model utilizing pQCD for the hard interactions and AdS/CFT for the soft interactions is consistent with the data.
Invariant yields of neutral pions, all centralities
Invariant yields of neutral pions, all centralities
$\Eta/ \pi^0 ratios
Direct photons have been measured in sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV d+Au collisions at midrapidity. A wide p_T range is covered by measurements of nearly-real virtual photons (1<p_T<6 GeV/c) and real photons (5<p_T<16 GeV/c). The invariant yield of the direct photons in d+Au collisions over the scaled p+p cross section is consistent with unity. Theoretical calculations assuming standard cold nuclear matter effects describe the data well for the entire p_T range. This indicates that the large enhancement of direct photons observed in Au+Au collisions for 1.0<p_T<2.5 GeV/c is due to a source other than the initial-state nuclear effects.
Direct photon fraction. The direct-photon fractions from the virtual-photon analysis as a function of $p_{T}$ in $p+p$ (MB) [1] collisions. The values in the table are equal to this mean value. The statistical and systematic uncertainties are shown by the bars and bands, respectively. The curves show expectations from a NLO pQCD calculation [17, 18] with different cutoff mass scales: (solid) $\mu$ = 0.5 $p_{T}$ , (dash) $\mu$ = 1.0 $p_{T}$ , and (dash-dot) $\mu$ = 2.0 $p_{T}$.
Direct photon fraction. The direct-photon fractions from the virtual-photon analysis as a function of $p_{T}$ in $d$+Au (MB) [1] collisions. The values in the table are equal to this mean value. The statistical and systematic uncertainties are shown by the bars and bands, respectively. The curves show expectations from a NLO pQCD calculation [17, 18] with different cutoff mass scales: (solid) $\mu$ = 0.5 $p_{T}$ , (dash) $\mu$ = 1.0 $p_{T}$ , and (dash-dot) $\mu$ = 2.0 $p_{T}$.
Direct photon cross section. (a) The invariant cross sections of the direct photon in $p+p$ [3, 4] and $d$+Au collisions. The $p+p$ fit result with the empirical parameterization described in the text is shown as well as NLO pQCD calculations, and the scaled $p+p$ fit is compared with the $d$+Au data. The closed and open symbols show the results from the virtual photon and $\pi_{0}$-tagging methods, respectively. The asterisk symbols show the result from the statistical subtraction method for $d$+Au data, overlapping with the virtual photon result in 3 < $p_{T}$ < 5 GeV/c. The values in the table are equal to this mean value. The bars and bands represent the point-to-point (ptp.) and $p_{T}$-correlated (cor.) uncertainties, respectively. (b) The $p+p$ data over the fit. The uncertainties of the fit due to both point-to-point (ptp.) and pT -correlated uncertainties of the data are summed quadratically, and the sum is shown as dotted lines. The NLO pQCD calculations divided by the fit are also shown.
The differential cross section for the production of direct photons in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV at midrapidity was measured in the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Inclusive-direct photons were measured in the transverse-momentum range from 5.5--25 GeV/c, extending the range beyond previous measurements. Event structure was studied with an isolation criterion. Next-to-leading-order perturbative-quantum-chromodynamics calculations give a good description of the spectrum. When the cross section is expressed versus x_T, the PHENIX data are seen to be in agreement with measurements from other experiments at different center-of-mass energies.
Cross section of midrapidity inclusive-direct photon production in $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV as a function of transverse momentum ($p_T$). Asymmetric statistical uncertainties occur in $p_T$ bins with no tagged $π^0$ counts.
Ratio of isolated/inclusive-direct photon (Fig. 13). Upper(+) and lower bounds(-) on systematics can be different, and are listed separately.
Ratio of isolated/inclusive photon from $π^0$ (Fig. 13).
Background: Heavy-flavor production in p+p collisions tests perturbative-quantum-chromodynamics (pQCD) calculations. Modification of heavy-flavor production in heavy-ion collisions relative to binary-collision scaling from p+p results, quantified with the nuclear-modification factor (R_AA), provides information on both cold- and hot-nuclear-matter effects. Purpose: Determine transverse-momentum, pt, spectra and the corresponding R_AA for muons from heavy-flavor mesons decay in p+p and Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV and y=1.65. Method: Results are obtained using the semi-leptonic decay of heavy-flavor mesons into negative muons. The PHENIX muon-arm spectrometers measure the p_T spectra of inclusive muon candidates. Backgrounds, primarily due to light hadrons, are determined with a Monte-Carlo calculation using a set of input hadron distributions tuned to match measured-hadron distributions in the same detector and statistically subtracted. Results: The charm-production cross section in p+p collisions at sqrt{s}=200 GeV, integrated over pt and in the rapidity range 1.4<y<1.9 is found to be dsigma_ccbar/dy = 0.139 +/- 0.029 (stat) ^{+0.051}_{-0.058} (syst) mb. This result is consistent with calculations and with expectations based on the corresponding midrapidity charm-production cross section measured earlier by PHENIX. The R_AA for heavy-flavor muons in Cu+Cu collisions is measured in three centrality intervals for 1<pt<4 GeV/c. Suppression relative to binary-collision scaling (R_AA<1) increases with centrality. Conclusions: Within experimental and theoretical uncertainties, the measured heavy-flavor yield in p+p collisions is consistent with state-of-the-art pQCD calculations. Suppression in central Cu+Cu collisions suggests the presence of significant cold-nuclear-matter effects and final-state energy loss.
Production cross section of negative muons from heavy-flavor mesons decay as a function of $p_T$ in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV.
Invariant production yields of negative muons from heavy-flavor-mesons decay as a function $p_T$ in Cu+Cu collisions for three different centrality intervals (40-94%, 20-40%, and 0-20%), scaled by powers of ten for clarity. The solid line associated to each set of points corresponds to a fit to the $p$+$p$ invariant yield distribution described in the text, scaled by the appropriate number of binary collisions $N_{coll}$ when comparing to the Cu+Cu measurements.
Invariant production yields of negative muons from heavy-flavor-mesons decay as a function $p_T$ in $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. The solid line associated to each set of points corresponds to a fit to the $p$+$p$ invariant yield distribution described in the text, scaled by the appropriate number of binary collisions $N_{coll}$ when comparing to the Cu+Cu measurements.
Measurements of the anisotropy parameter v_2 of identified hadrons (pions, kaons, and protons) as a function of centrality, transverse momentum p_T, and transverse kinetic energy KE_T at midrapidity (|\eta|<0.35) in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV are presented. Pions and protons are identified up to p_T = 6 GeV/c, and kaons up to p_T = 4 GeV/c, by combining information from time-of-flight and aerogel Cherenkov detectors in the PHENIX Experiment. The scaling of v_2 with the number of valence quarks (n_q) has been studied in different centrality bins as a function of transverse momentum and transverse kinetic energy. A deviation from previously observed quark-number scaling is observed at large values of KE_T/n_q in noncentral Au+Au collisions (20--60%), but this scaling remains valid in central collisions (0--10%).
Identified hadron $v_2$ in central (0–20% centrality, left panels) Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. Panels (a) and (b) show $v_2$ as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$. The $v_2$ of all species for centrality 0–20% has been scaled up by a factor of 1.6 for better comparison with results of 20–60% centrality. The error bars (shaded boxes) represent the statistical (systematic) uncertainties. The systematic uncertainties shown are type A and B only.
Identified hadron $v_2$ in central (0–20% centrality, left panels) Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. Panels (a) and (b) show $v_2$ as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$. The $v_2$ of all species for centrality 0–20% has been scaled up by a factor of 1.6 for better comparison with results of 20–60% centrality. The error bars (shaded boxes) represent the statistical (systematic) uncertainties. The systematic uncertainties shown are type A and B only.
Identified hadron $v_2$ in central (0–20% centrality, left panels) Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. Panels (a) and (b) show $v_2$ as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$. The $v_2$ of all species for centrality 0–20% has been scaled up by a factor of 1.6 for better comparison with results of 20–60% centrality. The error bars (shaded boxes) represent the statistical (systematic) uncertainties. The systematic uncertainties shown are type A and B only.
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