Measurements of the differential cross-section and the transverse single-spin asymmetry, A_N, vs. x_F for pi0 and eta mesons are reported for 0.4 < x_F < 0.75 at an average pseudorapidity of 3.68. A data sample of approximately 6.3 pb^{-1} was analyzed, which was recorded during p+p collisions at sqrt{s} = 200 GeV by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The average transverse beam polarization was 56%. The cross-section for pi0 is consistent with a perturbative QCD prediction, and the eta/pi0 cross-section ratio agrees with previous mid-rapidity measurements. For 0.55 < x_F < 0.75, A_N for eta (0.210 +- 0.056) is 2.2 standard deviations larger than A_N for pi0 (0.081 +- 0.016).
Differential production cross-sections for $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ at average pseudorapidity of 3.68. Also shown are the previously published STAR results for similar kinematics [21] and a NLO pQCD calculation of the π0 cross-section [32]. The error band represents the uncertainty in the calculation due to scale variations.
The $\eta$ to $\pi^0$ cross-section ratio is shown in the bottom panel. The error bars indicate the total statistical and systematic uncertainties.
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.
The electron pair invariant mass distributions for electrons at $2.5 < p_{T} < 3.0$ GeV/c
The electron pair invariant mass distributions for electrons at $8 < p_{T} < 10$ GeV/c
The simulated electron pair invariant mass distributions for electrons at $2.5 < p_{T} < 3$ GeV/c
We report measurements of charmed-hadron ($D^{0}$, $D^{*}$) production cross sections at mid-rapidity in $p$ + $p$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV by the STAR experiment. Charmed hadrons were reconstructed via the hadronic decays $D^{0}\rightarrow K^{-}\pi^{+}$, $D^{*+}\rightarrow D^{0}\pi^{+}\rightarrow K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{+}$ and their charge conjugates, covering the $p_T$ range of 0.6$-$2.0 GeV/$c$ and 2.0$-$6.0 GeV/$c$ for $D^{0}$ and $D^{*+}$, respectively. From this analysis, the charm-pair production cross section at mid-rapidity is $d\sigma/dy|_{y=0}^{c\bar{c}}$ = 170 $\pm$ 45 (stat.) $^{+38}_{-59}$ (sys.) $\mu$b. The extracted charm-pair cross section is compared to perturbative QCD calculations. The transverse momentum differential cross section is found to be consistent with the upper bound of a Fixed-Order Next-to-Leading Logarithm calculation.
$c\bar{c}$ production cross section as inferred from D$^0$ and D$^\star$ production in p+p collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 200$ GeV at $|\eta| < 1$ compared with FONLL calculations. The D$^0$ and D$^\star$ data points were divided by the charm quark fragmentation ratios 0.565 ($c \rightarrow$ D$^0$) and 0.224 ($c \rightarrow$ D$^{\star +}$) [34], respectively, to convert to the $c\bar{c}$ production cross section.
We report measurements of Upsilon meson production in p+p, d+Au, and Au+Au collisions using the STAR detector at RHIC. We compare the Upsilon yield to the measured cross section in p+p collisions in order to quantify any modifications of the yield in cold nuclear matter using d+Au data and in hot nuclear matter using Au+Au data separated into three centrality classes. Our p+p measurement is based on three times the statistics of our previous result. We obtain a nuclear modification factor for Upsilon(1S+2S+3S) in the rapidity range |y|<1 in d+Au collisions of R_dAu = 0.79 +/- 0.24 (stat.) +/- 0.03 (sys.) +/- 0.10 (pp sys.). A comparison with models including shadowing and initial state parton energy loss indicates the presence of additional cold-nuclear matter suppression. Similarly, in the top 10% most-central Au+Au collisions, we measure a nuclear modification factor of R_AA=0.49 +/- 0.1 (stat.) +/- 0.02 (sys.) +/- 0.06 (pp sys.), which is a larger suppression factor than that seen in cold nuclear matter. Our results are consistent with complete suppression of excited-state Upsilon mesons in Au+Au collisions. The additional suppression in Au+Au is consistent with the level expected in model calculations that include the presence of a hot, deconfined Quark-Gluon Plasma. However, understanding the suppression seen in d+Au is still needed before any definitive statements about the nature of the suppression in Au+Au can be made.
Comparison of our d+Au measurements to the pA measurements from E772. Ratio of $\Upsilon$ production in pA to pp scaled by mass number as a function of mass number. Shown are the 1S and 2S+3S $\Upsilon$ measurements from E772 and our 1S measurement.
We report the first measurement of the inclusive jet and the dijet longitudinal double-spin asymmetries, $A_{LL}$, at midrapidity in polarized $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 510$ GeV. The inclusive jet $A_{LL}$ measurement is sensitive to the gluon helicity distribution down to a gluon momentum fraction of $x\approx 0.015$, while the dijet measurements, separated into four jet-pair topologies, provide constraints on the $x$ dependence of the gluon polarization. Both results are consistent with previous measurements made at $\sqrt{s}= 200$ GeV in the overlapping kinematic region, $x > 0.05$, and show good agreement with predictions from recent next-to-leading order global analyses.
Fractions of the next-to-leading-order cross section for inclusive jet production arising from quark-quark, quark-gluon and gluon-gluon scattering in pp collisions (200GeV)
Fractions of the next-to-leading-order cross section for inclusive jet production arising from quark-quark, quark-gluon and gluon-gluon scattering in pp collisions (500GeV)
We report STAR measurements of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL, the transverse single-spin asymmetry A_N, and the transverse double-spin asymmetries A_Sigma and A_TT 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 represent integrated luminosities of 7.6 /pb with longitudinal polarization and 1.8 /pb with transverse polarization, with 50-55% beam polarization, and were recorded in 2005 and 2006. No evidence is found for the existence of statistically significant jet A_N, A_Sigma, or A_TT at mid-rapidity. Recent model calculations indicate the A_N results may provide new limits on the gluon Sivers distribution in the proton. The asymmetry A_LL significantly improves the knowledge of gluon polarization in the nucleon.
(color online) $A_{LL}$ for inclusive jet production versus corrected jet $p_{T}$ for 2005 data. For 2005 data we used a cone radius equal to 0.4 and a pseudorapidity range for the jet thrust axis of $0.2<\eta<0.8$. The error bars are statistical. The gray boxes show the systematic uncertainties.
(color online) $A_{LL}$ for inclusive jet production versus corrected jet $p_{T}$ for 2006 data. For 2006 data we used a jet cone radius equal to 0.7 and a pseudorapidity range of $−0.7<\eta<0.9$ to reflect the increased detector coverage. The error bars are statistical. The gray boxes show the systematic uncertainties.
We report $J/\psi$ spectra for transverse momenta $p_T$> 5 GeV/$c$ at mid-rapidity in p+p and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_{NN}) = 200 GeV.The inclusive $J/\psi$ spectrum and the extracted $B$-hadron feed-down are compared to models incorporating different production mechanisms. We observe significant suppression of the $J/\psi$ yields for $p_T$> 5 GeV/$c$ in 0-30% Au+Au collisions relative to the p+p yield scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions in Au+Au collisions. In 30-60% collisions, no such suppression is observed.The level of suppression is consistently less than that of high-$p_T$ $\pi^{\pm}$ and low-$p_T$ $J/\psi$.
We report measurements of the charge-separated $W^{+(-)} \to e^{+(-)} + \nu_e(\bar{\nu}_e)$ and $Z/\gamma^* \to e^+e^-$ production cross sections at mid-rapidity in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 500 GeV. These results are based on 13.2 pb$^{-1}$ of data recorded in 2009 by the STAR detector at RHIC. Production cross sections for W bosons that decay via the $e \nu$ channel were measured to be $\sigma(pp \to W^+ X) \cdot BR(W^+ \to e^+ \nu_e)$ = 117.3 \pm 5.9(stat) \pm 6.2(syst) \pm 15.2(lumi) pb, and $\sigma(pp \to W^- X) \cdot BR(W^- \to e^- \bar{\nu}_e)$ = 43.3 \pm 4.6(stat) \pm 3.4(syst) \pm 5.6(lumi) pb. For $Z/\gamma^*$ production, $\sigma(pp \to Z/\gamma^* X) \cdot BR(Z/\gamma^* \to e^+ e^-)$ = 7.7 \pm 2.1(stat) $^{+0.5}_{-0.9}$(syst) \pm 1.0(lumi) pb for di-lepton invariant masses $m_{e^+e^-}$ between 70 and 110 GeV/$c^2$. First measurements of the W cross section ratio, $\sigma(pp \to W^+ X) / \sigma(pp \to W^- X)$, at $\sqrt{s}$ = 500 GeV are also reported. Theoretical predictions, calculated using recent parton distribution functions, are found to agree with the measured cross sections.
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.
Acceptance corrected invariant mass distributions for the coherently produced $\rho^0$ candidates collected with trigger A (left) and B (right). The fit function (solid) encompasses the Breit-Wigner (dashed), the mass independent contribution from direct $\pi^+\pi^-$ production (dash-dotted), and the interference term (dotted). The hatched area is the contribution from the combinatorial background. The statistical errors are shown.
Acceptance corrected invariant mass distributions for the coherently produced $\rho^0$ candidates collected with trigger A (left) and B (right). The fit function (solid) encompasses the Breit-Wigner (dashed), the mass independent contribution from direct $\pi^+\pi^-$ production (dash-dotted), and the interference term (dotted). The hatched area is the contribution from the combinatorial background. The statistical errors are shown.
$\rho^0$ production cross section determined with the data set collected with trigger B, as a function of momentum transfer $t$, fitted with a double exponential fit function in the range $t < 0.1$. The statistical errors are shown. The ratio of incoherent to coherent cross sections is measured to be $0.20 \pm 0.8$. The fit parameters are shown in Table I.
We present measurements of $\Omega$ and $\phi$ production at mid-rapidity from Au+Au collisions at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27 and 39 GeV by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Motivated by the coalescence formation mechanism for these strange hadrons, we study the ratios of $N(\Omega^{-}+\Omega^{+})/(2N(\phi))$. These ratios as a function of transverse momentum ($p_T$) fall on a consistent trend at high collision energies, but start to show deviations in peripheral collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6, 27 and 39 GeV, and in central collisions at 11.5 GeV in the intermediate $p_T$ region of 2.4-3.6 GeV/c. We further evaluate empirically the strange quark $p_T$ distributions at hadronization by studying the $\Omega/\phi$ ratios scaled by the number of constituent quarks. The NCQ-scaled $\Omega/\phi$ ratios show a suppression of strange quark production in central collisions at 11.5 GeV compared to $\sqrt{s_{NN}} >= 19.6$ GeV. The shapes of the presumably thermal strange quark distributions in 0-60% most central collisions at 7.7 GeV show significant deviations from those in 0-10% most central collisions at higher energies. These features suggest that there is likely a change of the underlying strange quark dynamics in the transition from quark-matter to hadronic matter at collision energies below 19.6 GeV.
Phi Meson Spectra.
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