Partonic collectivity is one of the necessary signatures for the formation of quark-gluon plasma in high-energy nuclear collisions. Number of constituent quarks (NCQ) scaling has been observed for hadron elliptic flow $v_2$ in top energy nuclear collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the LHC, and this has been theoretically suggested as strong evidence for partonic collectivity. In this Letter, a systematic analysis of $v_2$ of $π^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $K^{0}_{S}$, $p$, and $Λ$ in Au+Au collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{_{\rm{NN}}}}}$ = 3.2, 3.5, 3.9, and 4.5 GeV, with the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, is presented. NCQ scaling is markedly violated at 3.2 GeV, consistent with a hadronic-interaction dominated equation of state. However, as the collision energy increases, a gradual evolution to NCQ scaling is observed. This beam-energy dependence of $v_2$ for all hadrons studied provides evidence for the onset of dominant partonic interactions by ${\sqrt{s_{_{\rm{NN}}}}}$ = 4.5 GeV.
$p_{T}$ dependence of $v_{2}$ for $\pi^{+}$ in Au+Au collisions at 3 GeV
$p_{T}$ dependence of $v_{2}$ for $\pi^{+}$ in Au+Au collisions at 3.2 GeV
$p_{T}$ dependence of $v_{2}$ for $\pi^{+}$ in Au+Au collisions at 3.5 GeV
We measure the spin-density matrix elements (SDMEs) for the photoproduction of $ϕ(1020)$ off of the proton in its decay to $K_S^0K_L^0$, using 105 pb$^{-1}$ of data collected with a linearly polarized photon beam using the GlueX experiment. The SDMEs are measured in nine bins of the squared four-momentum transfer $t$ in the range $-t=0.15-1.0$ GeV$^2$, providing the first measurement of their $t$-dependence for photon beam energies $E_γ= 8.2-8.8$ GeV. We confirm the dominance of Pomeron exchange in this region, and put constraints on the contribution of other Regge exchanges. We also find that helicity amplitudes where the helicity of the photon and the $ϕ(1020)$ differ by two units are negligible.
Spin-density matrix elements of $\phi(1020)$ mesons produced by a linearly polarized photon beam in the helicity system. For each bin of $-t$, the limits of the bin range are given, along with the average $-\bar t$ and root-mean-square deviation $-t_\text{RMS}$ of all events that fall within the bin.
We report the measurements of proton-deuteron ($p$-$d$) and deuteron-deuteron ($d$-$d$) correlation functions in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 3 GeV using fixed-target mode with the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC). For the first time, the source size ($R_{G}$), scattering length ($f_{0}$), and effective range ($d_{0}$) are extracted from the measured correlation functions with a simultaneous fit. The spin-averaged $f_0$ for $p$-$d$ and $d$-$d$ interactions are determined to be -5.28 $\pm$ 0.11(stat.) $\pm$ 0.82(syst.) fm and -2.62 $\pm$ 0.02(stat.) $\pm$ 0.24(syst.) fm, respectively. The measured $p$-$d$ interaction is consistent with theoretical calculations and low-energy scattering experiment results, demonstrating the feasibility of extracting interaction parameters using the femtoscopy technique. The reasonable agreement between the experimental data and the calculations from the transport model indicates that deuteron production in these collisions is primarily governed by nucleon coalescence.
Proton-Deuteron correlation function in 3 GeV Au+Au collisions.
Deuteron-Deuteron correlation function in 3 GeV Au+Au collisions.
Source size of p-d and d-d correlation function
We report multi-differential measurements of strange hadron production ranging from mid- to target-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at a center-of-momentum energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=3$ GeV with the STAR experiment at RHIC. $K^0_S$ meson and $\Lambda$ hyperon yields are measured via their weak decay channels. Collision centrality and rapidity dependences of the transverse momentum spectra and particle ratios are presented. Particle mass and centrality dependence of the average transverse momenta of $\Lambda$ and $K^0_S$ are compared with other strange particles, providing evidence of the development of hadronic rescattering in such collisions. The 4$\pi$ yields of each of these strange hadrons show a consistent centrality dependence. Discussions on radial flow, the strange hadron production mechanism, and properties of the medium created in such collisions are presented together with results from hadronic transport and thermal model calculations.
dN/dy of lambda for different centrality bins.
dN/dy of Ks0 for different centrality bins.
Rapidity dependence of Lambda/p for different centrality bins.
We measure the spin-density matrix elements (SDMEs) of the $\Delta^{++}(1232)$ in the photoproduction reaction $\gamma p \to \pi^-\Delta^{++}(1232)$ with the GlueX experiment in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. The measurement uses a linearly--polarized photon beam with energies from $8.2$ to $8.8$~GeV and the statistical precision of the SDMEs exceeds the previous measurement by three orders of magnitude for the momentum transfer squared region below $1.4$ GeV$^2$. The data are sensitive to the previously undetermined relative sign between couplings in existing Regge-exchange models. Linear combinations of the extracted SDMEs allow for a decomposition into natural and unnatural--exchange amplitudes. We find that the unnatural exchange plays an important role in the low momentum transfer region.
Spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of $\Delta(1232)^{++}$ in the Gottfried-Jackson system. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic. The systematic uncertainties for the polarized SDMEs $\rho^1_{ij}$ and $\rho^2_{ij}$ contain an overall relative normalization uncertainty of 2.1% which is fully correlated for all values of $-t$.
Spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of $\Delta(1232)^{++}$ in the Gottfried-Jackson system. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic.
The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab studies photoproduction of mesons using linearly polarized $8.5\,\text{GeV}$ photons impinging on a hydrogen target which is contained within a detector with near-complete coverage for charged and neutral particles. We present measurements of spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of the vector meson $\rho$(770). The statistical precision achieved exceeds that of previous experiments for polarized photoproduction in this energy range by orders of magnitude. We confirm a high degree of $s$-channel helicity conservation at small squared four-momentum transfer $t$ and are able to extract the $t$-dependence of natural and unnatural-parity exchange contributions to the production process in detail. We confirm the dominance of natural-parity exchange over the full $t$ range. We also find that helicity amplitudes in which the helicity of the incident photon and the photoproduced $\rho(770)$ differ by two units are negligible for $-t<0.5\,\text{GeV}^{2}/c^{2}$.
Spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of $\rho(770)$ in the helicity system. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic. The systematic uncertainties for the polarized SDMEs $\rho^1_{ij}$ and $\rho^2_{ij}$ contain an overall relative normalization uncertainty of 2.1% which is fully correlated for all values of $-t$.
Spin-density matrix elements for the photoproduction of $\rho(770)$ in the helicity system. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic. The systematic uncertainties for the polarized SDMEs $\rho^1_{ij}$ and $\rho^2_{ij}$ contain an overall relative normalization uncertainty of 2.1% which is fully correlated for all values of $-t$.
High precision measurements of flow coefficients $v_{n}$ ($n = 1 - 4$) for protons, deuterons and tritons relative to the first-order spectator plane have been performed in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.4$ GeV with the High-Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at the SIS18/GSI. Flow coefficients are studied as a function of transverse momentum $p_{t}$ and rapidity $y_{cm}$ over a large region of phase space and for several classes of collision centrality. A clear mass hierarchy is found for the slope of $v_{1}$, $d v_{1}/d y^{\prime}|_{y^{\prime} = 0}$ where $y^{\prime}$ is the scaled rapidity, and for $v_{2}$ at mid-rapidity. Scaling with the number of nucleons is observed for the $p_{t}$ dependence of $v_{2}$ and $v_{4}$ at mid-rapidity, which is indicative for nuclear coalescence as the main process responsible for light nuclei formation. $v_{2}$ is found to scale with the initial eccentricity $\langle \epsilon_{2} \rangle$, while $v_{4}$ scales with $\langle \epsilon_{2} \rangle^{2}$ and $\langle \epsilon_{4} \rangle$. The multi-differential high-precision data on $v_{1}$, $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$, and $v_{4}$ provides important constraints on the equation-of-state of compressed baryonic matter.
The resolution $\Re_{n}$ of the first-order spectator event plane for flow coefficients of different orders $n$ as a function of the event centrality (Adamczewski-Musch:2020iio). The circles correspond to centrality intervals of $5 \%$ width and the squares to $10 \%$ width (curves are meant to guide the eye).
The resolution $\Re_{n}$ of the first-order spectator event plane for flow coefficients of different orders $n$ as a function of the event centrality (Adamczewski-Musch:2020iio). The circles correspond to centrality intervals of $5 \%$ width and the squares to $10 \%$ width (curves are meant to guide the eye).
The flow coefficients $v_{1}$, $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$, and $v_{4}$ (from top to bottom panels) of protons, deuterons and tritons (from left to right panels) in semi-central ($20 - 30 \%$) Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.4$ GeV as a function of the centre-of-mass rapidity $y_{cm}$ in transverse momentum intervals of $50$ MeV$/c$ width. Systematic uncertainties are displayed as boxes. Lines are to guide the eye.
In high-energy heavy-ion collisions, partonic collectivity is evidenced by the constituent quark number scaling of elliptic flow anisotropy for identified hadrons. A breaking of this scaling and dominance of baryonic interactions is found for identified hadron collective flow measurements in $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions. In this paper, we report measurements of the first- and second-order azimuthal anisotropic parameters, $v_1$ and $v_2$, of light nuclei ($d$, $t$, $^{3}$He, $^{4}$He) produced in $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at the STAR experiment. An atomic mass number scaling is found in the measured $v_1$ slopes of light nuclei at mid-rapidity. For the measured $v_2$ magnitude, a strong rapidity dependence is observed. Unlike $v_2$ at higher collision energies, the $v_2$ values at mid-rapidity for all light nuclei are negative and no scaling is observed with the atomic mass number. Calculations by the Jet AA Microscopic Transport Model (JAM), with baryonic mean-field plus nucleon coalescence, are in good agreement with our observations, implying baryonic interactions dominate the collective dynamics in 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC.
The rapidity and $p_{T}$ dependencies of $v_{1}$ for $p$ in 10-40% mid-central Au+Au collisions at 3 GeV.
The rapidity and $p_{T}$ dependencies of $v_{1}$ for $d$ in 10-40% mid-central Au+Au collisions at 3 GeV.
The $p_{T}$ dependencies of $v_{1}$ within $-0.1<y<0$ for $t$ in 10-40% mid-central Au+Au collisions at 3 GeV.
We report cumulants of the proton multiplicity distribution from dedicated fixed-target Au+Au collisions at 3.0 GeV, measured by the STAR experiment in the kinematic acceptance of rapidity ($y$) and transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) within $-0.5 < y<0$ and $0.4 < p_{\rm T} <2.0 $ GeV/$c$. In the most central 0--5% collisions, a proton cumulant ratio is measured to be $C_4/C_2=-0.85 \pm 0.09 ~(\rm stat.) \pm 0.82 ~(\rm syst.)$, which is less than unity, the Poisson baseline. The hadronic transport UrQMD model reproduces our $C_4/C_2$ in the measured acceptance. Compared to higher energy results and the transport model calculations, the suppression in $C_4/C_2$ is consistent with fluctuations driven by baryon number conservation and indicates an energy regime dominated by hadronic interactions. These data imply that the QCD critical region, if created in heavy-ion collisions, could only exist at energies higher than 3 GeV.
$\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3.0 GeV data (black markers), GM (red histogram), and single and pile-up contributions from unfolding. Vertical lines on markers represent statistical uncertainties. Single, pile-up and single+pile-up collisions are shown in solid blue markers, dashed green and dashed magenta curves, respectively. Analysis is performed on 0–5% central events, indicated by a black arrow.
$\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3.0 GeV data (black markers), GM (red histogram), and single and pile-up contributions from unfolding. Vertical lines on markers represent statistical uncertainties. Single, pile-up and single+pile-up collisions are shown in solid blue markers, dashed green and dashed magenta curves, respectively. Analysis is performed on 0–5% central events, indicated by a black arrow.
Centrality dependence of the proton cumulant ratios for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3.0 GeV. Protons are from $-0.5 < y < 0$ and $0.4 < p_{T} < 2.0$ GeV/$c$. Systematic uncertainties are represented by gray bars. Statistical uncertainties are smaller than marker size. CBWC is applied to all cumulant ratios. While open squares represent the data without the VFC correction, blue triangles and red circles are the results with VFC using the $\langle N_{\rm{part}} \rangle$ distributions from the UrQMD and Glauber models, respectively. UrQMD model results are represented as gold dashed line.
We report the first multi-differential measurements of strange hadrons of $K^{-}$, $\phi$ and $\Xi^{-}$ yields as well as the ratios of $\phi/K^-$ and $\phi/\Xi^-$ in Au+Au collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = \rm{3\,GeV}}$ with the STAR experiment fixed target configuration at RHIC. The $\phi$ mesons and $\Xi^{-}$ hyperons are measured through hadronic decay channels, $\phi\rightarrow K^+K^-$ and $\Xi^-\rightarrow \Lambda\pi^-$. Collision centrality and rapidity dependence of the transverse momentum spectra for these strange hadrons are presented. The $4\pi$ yields and ratios are compared to thermal model and hadronic transport model predictions. At this collision energy, thermal model with grand canonical ensemble (GCE) under-predicts the $\phi/K^-$ and $\phi/\Xi^-$ ratios while the result of canonical ensemble (CE) calculations reproduce $\phi/K^-$, with the correlation length $r_c \sim 2.7$ fm, and $\phi/\Xi^-$, $r_c \sim 4.2$ fm, for the 0-10% central collisions. Hadronic transport models including high mass resonance decays could also describe the ratios. While thermal calculations with GCE work well for strangeness production in high energy collisions, the change to CE at $\rm{3\,GeV}$ implies a rather different medium property at high baryon density.
$K^-$ (a), invariant yields as a function of $m_T-m_0$ for various rapidity regions in 0--10\% central Au+Au collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = \mathrm{3\,GeV}}$. Statistics and systematic uncertainties are added quadratic here for plotting. Solid and dashed black lines depict $m_T$ exponential function fits to the measured data points with arbitrate scaling factors in each rapidity windows.
$\phi$ meson (b) invariant yields as a function of $m_T-m_0$ for various rapidity regions in 0--10\% central Au+Au collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = \mathrm{3\,GeV}}$. Statistics and systematic uncertainties are added quadratic here for plotting. Solid and dashed black lines depict $m_T$ exponential function fits to the measured data points with arbitrate scaling factors in each rapidity windows.
$\Xi^-$ (c) invariant yields as a function of $m_T-m_0$ for various rapidity regions in 0--10\% central Au+Au collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = \mathrm{3\,GeV}}$. Statistics and systematic uncertainties are added quadratic here for plotting. Solid and dashed black lines depict $m_T$ exponential function fits to the measured data points with arbitrate scaling factors in each rapidity windows.
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