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.

In 2015 the PHENIX collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider recorded $p+p$, $p+$Al, and $p+$Au collision data at center of mass energies of $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV with the proton beam(s) transversely polarized. At very forward rapidities $\eta>6.8$ relative to the polarized proton beam, neutrons were detected either inclusively or in (anti)correlation with detector activity related to hard collisions. The resulting single spin asymmetries, that were previously reported, have now been extracted as a function of the transverse momentum of the neutron as well as its longitudinal momentum fraction $x_F$. The explicit kinematic dependence, combined with the correlation information allows for a closer look at the interplay of different mechanisms suggested to describe these asymmetries, such as hadronic interactions or electromagnetic interactions in ultra-peripheral collisions, UPC. Events that are correlated with a hard collision indeed display a mostly negative asymmetry that increases in magnitude as a function of transverse momentum with only little dependence on $x_F$. In contrast, events that are not likely to have emerged from a hard collision display positive asymmetries for the nuclear collisions with a kinematic dependence that resembles that of a UPC based model. Because the UPC interaction depends strongly on the charge of the nucleus, those effects are very small for $p+p$ collisions, moderate for $p+$Al collisions, and large for $p+$Au collisions.

In 2015, the PHENIX collaboration has measured single-spin asymmetries for charged pions in transversely polarized proton-proton collisions at the center of mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. The pions were detected at central rapidities of $|\eta|<0.35$. The single-spin asymmetries are consistent with zero for each charge individually, as well as consistent with the previously published neutral-pion asymmetries in the same rapidity range. However, they show a slight indication of charge-dependent differences which may suggest a flavor dependence in the underlying mechanisms that create these asymmetries.

We present the first measurement of the electron angular distribution parameter alpha_2 in W to e nu events produced in proton-antiproton collisions as a function of the W boson transverse momentum. Our analysis is based on data collected using the D0 detector during the 1994--1995 Fermilab Tevatron run. We compare our results with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD, which predicts an angular distribution of (1 +/- alpha_1 cos theta* + alpha_2 cos^2 theta*), where theta* is the polar angle of the electron in the Collins-Soper frame. In the presence of QCD corrections, the parameters alpha_1 and alpha_2 become functions of p_T^W, the W boson transverse momentum. This measurement provides a test of next-to-leading order QCD corrections which are a non-negligible contribution to the W boson mass measurement.

Polarized proton-proton collisions provide leading-order access to gluons, presenting an opportunity to constrain gluon spin-momentum correlations within transversely polarized protons and enhance our understanding of the three-dimensional structure of the proton. Midrapidity open-heavy-flavor production at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV is dominated by gluon-gluon fusion, providing heightened sensitivity to gluon dynamics relative to other production channels. Transverse single-spin asymmetries of positrons and electrons from heavy-flavor hadron decays are measured at midrapidity using the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. These charge-separated measurements are sensitive to gluon correlators that can in principle be related to gluon orbital angular momentum via model calculations. Explicit constraints on gluon correlators are extracted for two separate models, one of which had not been constrained previously.

Presented are the first measurements of the transverse single-spin asymmetries ($A_N$) for neutral pions and eta mesons in $p$+Au and $p$+Al collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV in the pseudorapidity range $|\eta|<$0.35 with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The asymmetries are consistent with zero, similar to those for midrapidity neutral pions and eta mesons produced in $p$+$p$ collisions. These measurements show no evidence of additional effects that could potentially arise from the more complex partonic environment present in proton-nucleus collisions.

We present a measurement of the muon charge asymmetry from the decay of the $W$ boson via W to mu nu using 7.3 fb^{-1} of integrated luminosity collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV. The muon charge asymmetry is presented in two kinematic regions in muon transverse momentum and event missing transverse energy: (p^{\mu}_{T} > 25 GeV, \met > 25 GeV) and (p^{\mu}_{T} > 35 GeV, \met > 35 GeV). The measured asymmetries are compared with theory predictions made using three parton distribution function sets. The predictions do not describe the data well for p^{\mu}_{T} > 35 GeV, \met > 35 GeV, and larger values of muon pseudorapidity.

We present measurements of the forward-backward asymmetry in the angular distribution of leptons from decays of top quarks and antiquarks produced in proton-antiproton collisions. We consider the final state containing a lepton and at least three jets. The entire sample of data collected by the D0 experiment during Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, corresponding to 9.7 inverse fb of integrated luminosity, is used. The asymmetry measured for reconstructed leptons is $A_{FB}^l = \big(2.9 \pm 2.1(stat.) ^{+1.5}_{-1.7}(syst.) \big)$%. When corrected for efficiency and resolution effects within the lepton rapidity coverage of $|y_l|<1.5$, the asymmetry is found to be $A_{FB}^l = \big(4.2 \pm 2.3(stat.) ^{+1.7}_{-2.0}(syst.) \big)$%. Combination with the asymmetry measured in the dilepton final state yields $A_{FB}^l = \big(4.2 \pm 2.0(stat.) \pm 1.4(syst.) \big)$%. We examine the dependence of $A_{FB}^l$ on the transverse momentum and rapidity of the lepton. The results are in agreement with predictions from the next-to-leading-order QCD generator \mcatnlo, which predicts an asymmetry of $A_{FB}^l = 2.0$% for $|y_l|<1.5$.

We present a measurement of the forward--backward asymmetry in top quark-antiquark production using the full Tevatron Run II dataset collected by the D0 experiment at Fermilab. The measurement is performed in lepton+jets final states using a new kinematic fitting algorithm for events with four or more jets and a new partial reconstruction algorithm for events with only three jets. Corrected for detector acceptance and resolution effects, the asymmetry is evaluated to be 10.6+-3.0 %. Results are consistent with the standard model predictions which range from 5.0% to 8.8%. We also present the dependence of the asymmetry on the invariant mass of the top quark--antiquark system and the difference in rapidities of top quark and antiquark.

In the $pp \rightarrow t\bar{t}$ process the angular distributions of top and anti-top quarks are expected to present a subtle difference, which could be enhanced by processes not included in the Standard Model. This Letter presents a measurement of the charge asymmetry in events where the top-quark pair is produced with a large invariant mass. The analysis is performed on 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s} =$ 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, using reconstruction techniques specifically designed for the decay topology of highly boosted top quarks. The charge asymmetry in a fiducial region with large invariant mass of the top-quark pair ($m_{t\bar{t}} > $ 0.75 TeV) and an absolute rapidity difference of the top and anti-top quark candidates within $-$2 $ < |y_t| - |y_{\bar{t}}| <$ 2 is measured to be 4.2 $\pm$ 3.2%, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction at next-to-leading order. A differential measurement in three $t\bar{t}$ mass bins is also presented.