The PHENIX Collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured open heavy-flavor production in minimum bias Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV via the yields of electrons from semileptonic decays of charm and bottom hadrons. Previous heavy-flavor electron measurements indicated substantial modification in the momentum distribution of the parent heavy quarks due to the quark-gluon plasma created in these collisions. For the first time, using the PHENIX silicon vertex detector to measure precision displaced tracking, the relative contributions from charm and bottom hadrons to these electrons as a function of transverse momentum are measured in Au$+$Au collisions. We compare the fraction of electrons from bottom hadrons to previously published results extracted from electron-hadron correlations in $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV and find the fractions to be similar within the large uncertainties on both measurements for $p_T>4$ GeV/$c$. We use the bottom electron fractions in Au$+$Au and $p$$+$$p$ along with the previously measured heavy flavor electron $R_{AA}$ to calculate the $R_{AA}$ for electrons from charm and bottom hadron decays separately. We find that electrons from bottom hadron decays are less suppressed than those from charm for the region $3<p_T<4$ GeV/$c$.
We present spectra of charged pions and protons in 0-10% central Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV at mid-rapidity ($y=0$) and forward pseudorapidity ($\eta=2.2$) measured with the BRAHMS experiment at RHIC. The spectra are compared to spectra from p+p collisions at the same energy scaled by the number of binary collisions. The resulting nuclear modification factors for central Au+Au collisions at both $y=0$ and $\eta=2.2$ exhibit suppression for charged pions but not for (anti-)protons at intermediate $p_T$. The $\bar{p}/\pi^-$ ratios have been measured up to $p_T\sim 3$ GeV/$c$ at the two rapidities and the results indicate that a significant fraction of the charged hadrons produced at intermediate $p_T$ range are (anti-)protons at both mid-rapidity and $\eta = 2.2$.
The BRAHMS collaboration has measured transverse momentum spectra of pions, kaons, protons and antiprotons at rapidities 0 and 3 for Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV. As the collisions become more central the collective radial flow increases while the temperature of kinetic freeze-out decreases. The temperature is lower and the radial flow weaker at forward rapidity. Pion and kaon yields with transverse momenta between 1.5 and 2.5 GeV/c are suppressed for central collisions relative to scaled $p+p$ collisions. This suppression, which increases as the collisions become more central is consistent with jet quenching models and is also present with comparable magnitude at forward rapidity. At such rapidities initial state effects may also be present and persistence of the meson suppression to high rapidity may reflect a combination of jet quenching and nuclear shadowing. The ratio of protons to mesons increases as the collisions become more central and is largest at forward rapidities.
We present spectra of charged hadrons from Au+Au and d+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV measured with the BRAHMS experiment at RHIC. The spectra for different collision centralities are compared to spectra from ${\rm p}+\bar{{\rm p}}$ collisions at the same energy scaled by the number of binary collisions. The resulting ratios (nuclear modification factors) for central Au+Au collisions at $\eta=0$ and $\eta=2.2$ evidence a strong suppression in the high $p_{T}$ region ($>$2 GeV/c). In contrast, the d+Au nuclear modification factor (at $\eta=0$) exhibits an enhancement of the high $p_T$ yields. These measurements indicate a high energy loss of the high $p_T$ particles in the medium created in the central Au+Au collisions. The lack of suppression in d+Au collisions makes it unlikely that initial state effects can explain the suppression in the central Au+Au collisions.