PHENIX presents a simultaneous measurement of the production of direct $\gamma$ and $\pi^0$ in $d$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV over a $p_T$ range of 7.5 to 18 GeV/$c$ for different event samples selected by event activity, i.e. charged-particle multiplicity detected at forward rapidity. Direct-photon yields are used to empirically estimate the contribution of hard-scattering processes in the different event samples. Using this estimate, the average nuclear-modification factor $R_{d\rm Au,EXP}^{\gamma^{\rm dir}}$ is $0.925{\pm}0.023({\rm stat}){\pm}0.15^{\rm (scale)}$, consistent with unity for minimum-bias (MB) $d$$+$Au events. For event classes with moderate event activity, $R_{d\rm Au,EXP}^{\gamma^{\rm dir}}$ is consistent with the MB value within 5% uncertainty. These results confirm that the previously observed enhancement of high-$p_T$$\pi^0$ production found in small-system collisions with low event activity is a result of a bias in interpreting event activity within the Glauber framework. In contrast, for the top 5% of events with the highest event activity, $R_{d\rm Au,EXP}^{\gamma^{\rm dir}}$ is suppressed by 20% relative to the MB value with a significance of $4.5\sigma$, which may be due to final-state effects.
The $p_{T}$ distribution at high $p_{T}$ of neutral pions (panel (a)) for different d+Au event activity classes compared to those from p+p collisions (Phys. Rev. C 105, 064902).
The $p_{T}$ distribution at high $p_{T}$ of direct photons (panel (b)) for different d+Au event activity classes compared to those from p+p collisions (Phys. Rev. D 86, 072008).
Panel (c) shows the ratio $\gamma^{dir}/\pi^{0}$. For better visibility the points are slightly shifted in $p_{T}$ .
The interpretation of cosmic antiproton flux measurements from space-borne experiments is currently limited by the knowledge of the antiproton production cross-section in collisions between primary cosmic rays and the interstellar medium. Using collisions of protons with an energy of 6.5 TeV incident on helium nuclei at rest in the proximity of the interaction region of the LHCb experiment, the ratio of antiprotons originating from antihyperon decays to prompt production is measured for antiproton momenta between 12 and 110 GeV/c. The dominant antihyperon contribution, namely $\bar{\Lambda} \to \bar{p} \pi^+$ decays from promptly produced $\bar{\Lambda}$ particles, is also exclusively measured. The results complement the measurement of prompt antiproton production obtained from the same data sample. At the energy scale of this measurement, the antihyperon contributions to antiproton production are observed to be significantly larger than predictions of commonly used hadronic production models.
Ratio of the antihyperon decays to prompt antiproton production (R_Hbar) in collisions of 6.5 TeV protons on He nuclei at rest in antiproton momentum and transverse momentum intervals. The average momentum and transverse momentum, as predicted by the EPOS-LHC generator for prompt antiprotons, are also listed for each interval. The uncertainty is split into an uncorrelated component, denoted with delta_uncorr, and a component that is fully correlated among the kinematic intervals, denoted delta_corr.
Ratio of the Lbar decays to prompt antiproton production (R_Lbar) in collisions of 6.5 TeV protons on He nuclei at rest in antiproton momentum and transverse momentum intervals. The average momentum and transverse momentum, as predicted by the EPOS-LHC generator for prompt antiprotons, are also listed for each interval. The uncertainty is split into an uncorrelated component, denoted with delta_uncorr, and a component that is fully correlated among the kinematic intervals, denoted delta_corr.
Recently, the PHENIX Collaboration has published second- and third-harmonic Fourier coefficients $v_2$ and $v_3$ for midrapidity ($|\eta|<0.35$) charged hadrons in 0%--5% central $p$$+$Au, $d$ $+$Au, and $^3$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV utilizing three sets of two-particle correlations for two detector combinations with different pseudorapidity acceptance [Phys. Rev. C {\bf 105}, 024901 (2022)]. This paper extends these measurements of $v_2$ to all centralities in $p$ $+$Au, $d$ $+$Au, and $^3$He$+$Au collisions, as well as $p$$+$$p$ collisions, as a function of transverse momentum ($p_T$) and event multiplicity. The kinematic dependence of $v_2$ is quantified as the ratio $R$ of $v_2$ between the two detector combinations as a function of event multiplicity for $0.5$ $<$ $p_T$ $<$ $1$ and $2$ $<$ $p_T$ $<$ $2.5$ GeV/$c$. A multiphase-transport (AMPT) model can reproduce the observed $v_2$ in most-central to midcentral $d$$+$Au and $^3$He$+$Au collisions. However, the AMPT model systematically overestimates the measurements in $p$ $+$ $p$, $p$ $+$Au, and peripheral $d$$+$Au and $^3$He$+$Au collisions, indicating a higher nonflow contribution in AMPT than in the experimental data. The AMPT model fails to describe the observed $R$ for $0.5$ $<$ $p_T$$<$ $1$ GeV/$c$, but there is qualitative agreement with the measurements for $2$ $<$ $p_T$ $<$ $2.5$ GeV/$c$.
Azimuthal anisotropy $v_2\{BB\}$ as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$ in $p$+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 200 GeV.
Azimuthal anisotropy $v_2\{BF\}$ as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$ in $p$+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 200 GeV.
Azimuthal anisotropy $v_2\{BB\}$ as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$ in $d$+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 200 GeV.
There is strong evidence for the formation of small droplets of quark-gluon plasma in $p/d/^{3}$He+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and in $p$+$p$/Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. In particular, the analysis of data at RHIC for different geometries obtained by varying the projectile size and shape has proven insightful. In the present analysis, we find excellent agreement with the previously published PHENIX at RHIC results on elliptical and triangular flow with an independent analysis via the two-particle correlation method, which has quite different systematic uncertainties and an independent code base. In addition, the results are extended to other detector combinations with different kinematic (pseudorapidity) coverage. These results provide additional constraints on contributions from nonflow and longitudinal decorrelations.
$v_2$ vs $p_T$, p+Au at 200 GeV, 0-5% central, BBCS-FVTXS-CNT detector combination
$v_2$ vs $p_T$, d+Au at 200 GeV, 0-5% central, BBCS-FVTXS-CNT detector combination
$v_2$ vs $p_T$, 3He+Au at 200 GeV, 0-5% central, BBCS-FVTXS-CNT detector combination
The cross-section for prompt antiproton production in collisions of protons with an energy of $6.5$ TeV incident on helium nuclei at rest is measured with the LHCb experiment from a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $0.5\,nb^{-1}$. The target is provided by injecting helium gas into the LHC beam line at the LHCb interaction point. The reported results, covering antiproton momenta between $12$ and $110\,\mathrm{GeV/}c$, represent the first direct determination of the antiproton production cross-section in ${\rm p He}$ collisions, and impact the interpretation of recent results on antiproton cosmic rays from space-borne experiments.
Double-differential cross-section in antiproton momentum and transverse momentum for antiproton production in collisions of 6.5 TeV protons on He nuclei at rest. The antiproton momentum is defined in the laboratory frame. Results are averaged over the given kinematic range of each bin. The uncertainty is split into an uncertainty delta_uncorr, uncorrelated among the kinematic bins, and an uncertainty delta_corr, fully correlated among the kinematic bins. For both uncertainties, the systematic uncertainty, dominant for most bins, and the statistical uncertainty, are added in quadrature. The average value within each bin is also reported for the antiproton momentum, the transverse momentum. These average values are obtained from simulation (based on EPOS LHC), to avoid biases from reconstruction effects and given the good agreement with data observed for the simulated kinematic spectra. Projections of Table1 distribution in antiproton $p_T$ bins.
The average value of antiproton x-Feynman $x_F=2 p_{Z}^{*}/\sqrt{s}$ in bins of antiproton momentum and transverse momentum in collisions of 6.5 TeV protons on He nuclei at rest, where $p_{Z}^{*}$ is the longitudinal antiproton momentum in the center-of-mass system and $\sqrt{s}$ the nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy. In each bin the average value is reported for the antiproton momentum and transverse momentum. These average values are obtained from simulation (based on EPOS LHC), to avoid biases from reconstruction effects and given the good agreement with data observed for the simulated kinematic spectra. Projections of Table 3 distribution in antiproton $p_T$ bins.
Asymmetric nuclear collisions of $p$$+$Al, $p$$+$Au, $d$$+$Au, and $^{3}$He$+$Au at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV provide an excellent laboratory for understanding particle production, as well as exploring interactions among these particles after their initial creation in the collision. We present measurements of charged hadron production $dN_{\rm ch}/d\eta$ in all such collision systems over a broad pseudorapidity range and as a function of collision multiplicity. A simple wounded quark model is remarkably successful at describing the full data set. We also measure the elliptic flow $v_{2}$ over a similarly broad pseudorapidity range. These measurements provide key constraints on models of particle emission and their translation into flow.
Charged hadron $dN_{ch}/d\eta$ as a function of pseudorapidity in high-multiplicity 0%-5% central $^3$He+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Charged hadron $dN_{ch}/d\eta$ as a function of pseudorapidity in high-multiplicity 0%-5% central $d$+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Charged hadron $dN_{ch}/d\eta$ as a function of pseudorapidity in high-multiplicity 0%-5% central $p$+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
The experimental study of the collisions of heavy nuclei at relativistic energies has established the properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), a state of hot, dense nuclear matter in which quarks and gluons are not bound into hadrons. In this state, matter behaves as a nearly inviscid fluid that efficiently translates initial spatial anisotropies into correlated momentum anisotropies among the produced particles, producing a common velocity field pattern known as collective flow. In recent years, comparable momentum anisotropies have been measured in small-system proton-proton ($p$$+$$p$) and proton-nucleus ($p$$+$$A$) collisions, despite expectations that the volume and lifetime of the medium produced would be too small to form a QGP. Here, we report on the observation of elliptic and triangular flow patterns of charged particles produced in proton-gold ($p$$+$Au), deuteron-gold ($d$$+$Au), and helium-gold ($^3$He$+$Au) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$~=~200 GeV. The unique combination of three distinct initial geometries and two flow patterns provides unprecedented model discrimination. Hydrodynamical models, which include the formation of a short-lived QGP droplet, provide a simultaneous description of these measurements.
$v_2$for 0-5% central p+Au collisions
$v_2$for 0-5% central d+Au collisions
$v_2$for 0-5% central $^3$He+Au collisions
We present measurements of two-particle angular correlations between high-transverse-momentum ($2
Fourier fit coefficients for CNT-MPCS (Au-going) correlations, as a function of collision system and $\pi^0$ $p_T$: (a) the negative of the dipole coefficient, $-c_1$; (b) the quadrupole coefficient $c_2$; (c) the ratio ${-c_2}/{c_1}$.
Fourier fit coefficients for CNT-MPCS (Au-going) correlations, as a function of collision system and $\pi^0$ $p_T$: Fractional systematic uncertainty on the quadrupole coefficient $c_2$ for $d$+Au.
Fourier fit coefficients for CNT-MPCS (Au-going) correlations, as a function of collision system and $\pi^0$ $p_T$: Fractional systematic uncertainty on the quadrupole coefficient $c_2$ for $p$+$p$.
We present measurements of the transverse-momentum dependence of elliptic flow $v_2$ for identified pions and (anti)protons at midrapidity ($|\eta|<0.35$), in 0%--5% central $p$$+$Au and $^3$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. When taken together with previously published measurements in $d$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV, the results cover a broad range of small-collision-system multiplicities and intrinsic initial geometries. We observe a clear mass-dependent splitting of $v_2(p_{T})$ in $d$$+$Au and $^3$He$+$Au collisions, just as in large nucleus-nucleus ($A$$+$$A$) collisions, and a smaller splitting in $p$$+$Au collisions. Both hydrodynamic and transport model calculations successfully describe the data at low $p_T$ ($< 1.5$ GeV/$c$), but fail to describe various features at higher $p_T$. In all systems, the $v_2$ values follow an approximate quark-number scaling as a function of the hadron transverse kinetic energy per constituent quark($KE_T/n_q$), which was also seen previously in $A$$+$$A$ collisions.
Values of $v_2$($p_T$) for kaons in central 0-5% $p$+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Values of $v_2$($p_T$) for kaons in central 0-5% $^3$He+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Transverse momentum dependence of $v_2$ for identified pions and protons within $|\eta|$ < 0.35 in 0-5% central $p$+Au collisions.
We present a detailed measurement of charged two-pion correlation functions in 0%-30% centrality $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV Au$+$Au collisions by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The data are well described by Bose-Einstein correlation functions stemming from L\'evy-stable source distributions. Using a fine transverse momentum binning, we extract the correlation strength parameter $\lambda$, the L\'evy index of stability $\alpha$ and the L\'evy length scale parameter $R$ as a function of average transverse mass of the pair $m_T$. We find that the positively and the negatively charged pion pairs yield consistent results, and their correlation functions are represented, within uncertainties, by the same L\'evy-stable source functions. The $\lambda(m_T)$ measurements indicate a decrease of the strength of the correlations at low $m_T$. The L\'evy length scale parameter $R(m_T)$ decreases with increasing $m_T$, following a hydrodynamically predicted type of scaling behavior. The values of the L\'evy index of stability $\alpha$ are found to be significantly lower than the Gaussian case of $\alpha=2$, but also significantly larger than the conjectured value that may characterize the critical point of a second-order quark-hadron phase transition.
Example fits of Bose-Einstein correlation functions of (a) $\pi^{-}\pi^{-}$ pair with $m_{T}$ between 0.331 and 0.349 GeV/$c^2$ and of (b) $\pi^{+}\pi^{+}$ pair with $m_T$ between 0.655 and 0.675 GeV/$c^2$, as a function $Q$ ≡ |$q_{LCMS}$|, defined in Eq. (26). Both fits show the measured correlation function and the complete fit function (described in VI A), while a Bose-Einstein fit function $C^{(0)}_{2} (Q)$ is also shown, with the Coulomb-corrected data, i.e. the raw data multiplied by $C^{(0)}_{2} (Q)/C_{2}(Q)$. In this analysis we measured 62 such correlation functions (for ++ and -- pairs, in 31 $m_T$ bins), and fitted all of them with the method described in VIA. The first visible point on both panels corresponds to $Q$ values below the accessible range (based on an evaluation of the two-track cuts), these were not taken into account in the fitting.
Example fits of Bose-Einstein correlation functions of (a) $\pi^{-}\pi^{-}$ pair with $m_{T}$ between 0.331 and 0.349 GeV/$c^2$ and of (b) $\pi^{+}\pi^{+}$ pair with $m_T$ between 0.655 and 0.675 GeV/$c^2$, as a function $Q$ ≡ |$q_{LCMS}$|, defined in Eq. (26). Both fits show the measured correlation function and the complete fit function (described in VI A), while a Bose-Einstein fit function $C^{(0)}_{2} (Q)$ is also shown, with the Coulomb-corrected data, i.e. the raw data multiplied by $C^{(0)}_{2} (Q)/C_{2}(Q)$. In this analysis we measured 62 such correlation functions (for ++ and -- pairs, in 31 $m_T$ bins), and fitted all of them with the method described in VIA. The first visible point on both panels corresponds to $Q$ values below the accessible range (based on an evaluation of the two-track cuts), these were not taken into account in the fitting.
Correlation strength parameter $\lambda$ versus average $m_T$ of the pair, for 0%-30% centrality collisions. Statistical and systematic uncertainties are shown as bars and boxes.
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