We have studied the dependence of azimuthal anisotropy $v_2$ for inclusive and identified charged hadrons in Au$+$Au and Cu$+$Cu collisions on collision energy, species, and centrality. The values of $v_2$ as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$ and centrality in Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV and 62.4 GeV are the same within uncertainties. However, in Cu$+$Cu collisions we observe a decrease in $v_2$ values as the collision energy is reduced from 200 to 62.4 GeV. The decrease is larger in the more peripheral collisions. By examining both Au$+$Au and Cu$+$Cu collisions we find that $v_2$ depends both on eccentricity and the number of participants, $N_{\rm part}$. We observe that $v_2$ divided by eccentricity ($\varepsilon$) monotonically increases with $N_{\rm part}$ and scales as ${N_{\rm part}^{1/3}}$. The Cu$+$Cu data at 62.4 GeV falls below the other scaled $v_{2}$ data. For identified hadrons, $v_2$ divided by the number of constituent quarks $n_q$ is independent of hadron species as a function of transverse kinetic energy $KE_T=m_T-m$ between $0.1<KE_T/n_q<1$ GeV. Combining all of the above scaling and normalizations, we observe a near-universal scaling, with the exception of the Cu$+$Cu data at 62.4 GeV, of $v_2/(n_q\cdot\varepsilon\cdot N^{1/3}_{\rm part})$ vs $KE_T/n_q$ for all measured particles.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Correlations of charged hadrons of 1 < pT < 10 GeV/c with high pT direct photons and pi^ 0 mesons in the range 5 <pT < 15 GeV/c are used to study jet fragmentation in the photon+jet and di-jet channels, respectively. The magnitude of the partonic transverse momentum, kT, is obtained by comparing to a model incorporating a Gaussian kT smearing. The sensitivity of the associated charged hadron spectra to the underlying fragmentation function is tested and the data are compared to calculations using recent global fit results. The shape of the direct photon-associated hadron spectrum as well as its charge asymmetry are found to be consistent with a sample dominated by quark-gluon Compton scattering. No significant evidence of fragmentation photon correlated production is observed within experimental uncertainties.
It has been postulated that partonic orbital angular momentum can lead to a significant double-helicity dependence in the net transverse momentum of Drell-Yan dileptons produced in longitudinally polarized p+p collisions. Analogous effects are also expected for dijet production. If confirmed by experiment, this hypothesis, which is based on semi-classical arguments, could lead to a new approach for studying the contributions of orbital angular momentum to the proton spin. We report the first measurement of the double-helicity dependence of the dijet transverse momentum in longitudinally polarized p+p collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV from data taken by the PHENIX experiment in 2005 and 2006. The analysis deduces the transverse momentum of the dijet from the widths of the near- and far-side peaks in the azimuthal correlation of the dihadrons. When averaged over the transverse momentum of the triggered particle, the difference of the root-mean-square of the dijet transverse momentum between like- and unlike-helicity collisions is found to be -37 +/- 88(stat) +/- 14(syst) MeV/c.
We report a measurement of $e^+e^-$ pairs from semileptonic heavy-flavor decays in $d$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. Exploring the mass and transverse-momentum dependence of the yield, the bottom decay contribution can be isolated from charm, and quantified by comparison to {\sc pythia} and {\sc mc@nlo} simulations. The resulting $b\bar{b}$-production cross section is $\sigma^{d{\rm Au}}_{b\bar{b}}=1.37{\pm}0.28({\rm stat}){\pm}0.46({\rm syst})$~mb, which is equivalent to a nucleon-nucleon cross section of $\sigma^{NN}_{bb}=3.4\pm0.8({\rm stat}){\pm}1.1({\rm syst})\ \mu$b.
We present results for three charmonia states (psi^prime, chi_c and J/psi) in d+Au collisions at |y|<0.35 and sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. We find that the modification of the psi^prime yield relative to that of the J/psi scales approximately with charged-particle multiplicity at midrapidity across p+A, d+Au, and A+A results from the Super Proton Synchrotron and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. In large impact-parameter collisions we observe a similar suppression for the psi^prime and J/psi, while in small impact-parameter collisions the more weakly bound psi^prime is more strongly suppressed. Owing to the short time spent traversing the Au nucleus, the larger psi^prime suppression in central events is not explained by an increase of the nuclear absorption due to meson formation time effects.
Back-to-back hadron pair yields in d+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV were measured with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Rapidity separated hadron pairs were detected with the trigger hadron at pseudorapidity |eta|<0.35 and the associated hadron at forward rapidity (deuteron direction, 3.0<eta<3.8). Pairs were also detected with both hadrons measured at forward rapidity; in this case the yield of back-to-back hadron pairs in d+Au collisions with small impact parameters is observed to be suppressed by a factor of 10 relative to p+p collisions. The kinematics of these pairs is expected to probe partons in the Au nucleus with low fraction x of the nucleon momenta, where the gluon densities rise sharply. The observed suppression as a function of nuclear thickness, p_T, and eta points to cold nuclear matter effects arising at high parton densities.
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