We present measurements from Brookhaven Experiment 864 of neutron invariant multiplicity in 11.5 A GeV/c Au+Pb collisions. The measurements span a rapidity range from center-of-mass to beam rapidity (y(beam)=3.2) and are presented as a function of event centrality. The results are compared with E864 measurements of proton invariant multiplicity and an average n/p ratio at hadronic freeze-out of 1.19+-.08 is determined for the rapidity range y=1.6 to y=2.4. We discuss briefly the implications of this ratio within a simple equilibrium model of the collision system.
J/psi production has been measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)= 200 GeV over a wide rapidity and transverse momentum range by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. Distributions of the rapidity and transverse momentum, along with measurements of the mean transverse momentum and total production cross section are presented and compared to available theoretical calculations. The total J/psi cross section is 3.99 +/- 0.61(stat) +/- 0.58(sys) +/- 0.40(abs) micro barns. The mean transverse momentum is 1.80 +/- 0.23(stat) +/- 0.16(sys) GeV/c.
We report on measurements by the E864 experiment at the BNL-AGS of the yields of light nuclei in collisions of Au(197) with beam momentum of 11.5 A GeV/c on targets of Pb(208) and Pt(197). The yields are reported for nuclei with baryon number A=1 up to A=7, and typically cover a rapidity range from y(cm) to y(cm)+1 and a transverse momentum range of approximately 0.1 < p(T)/A < 0.5 GeV/c. We calculate coalescence scale factors B(A) from which we extract model dependent source dimensions and collective flow velocities. We also examine the dependences of the yields on baryon number, spin, and isospin of the produced nuclei.
We present results from Experiment 864 for antiproton production and antideuteron limits in Au + Pb collisions at 11.5 GeV/c per nucleon. We have measured invariant multiplicities for antiprotons for rapidities 1.4<y<2.4 at low transverse momentum as a function of collision geometry. When compared with the results from Experiment 878 our measurements suggest a significant contribution to the measured antiproton yield from the decay of strange antibaryons. We have also searched for antideuterons and see no statistically significant signal. Thus, we set upper limits on the production at approximately 3 x 10^{-7} per 10% highest multiplicity Au + Pb interaction.
The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has measured electrons from heavy flavor (charm and bottom) decays for 0.3 < p_T < 9 GeV/c at midrapidity (|y| < 0.35) in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The nuclear modification factor R_AA relative to p+p collisions shows a strong suppression in central Au+Au collisions, indicating substantial energy loss of heavy quarks in the medium produced at RHIC. A large azimuthal anisotropy, v_2, with respect to the reaction plane is observed for 0.5 < p_T < 5 GeV/c indicating non-zero heavy flavor elliptic flow. Both R_AA and v_2 show a p_T dependence different from those of neutral pions. A comparison to transport models which simultaneously describe R_AA(p_T) and v_2(p_T) suggests that the viscosity to entropy density ratio is close to the conjectured quantum lower bound, i.e., near a perfect fluid.
The PHENIX experiement has measured the electron-positron pair mass spectrum from 0 to 8 GeV/c^2 in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. The contributions from light meson decays to e^+e^- pairs have been determined based on measurements of hadron production cross sections by PHENIX. They account for nearly all e^+e^- pairs in the mass region below 1 GeV/c^2. The e^+e^- pair yield remaining after subtracting these contributions is dominated by semileptonic decays of charmed hadrons correlated through flavor conservation. Using the spectral shape predicted by PYTHIA, we estimate the charm production cross section to be 544 +/- 39(stat) +/- 142(syst) +/- 200(model) \mu b, which is consistent with QCD calculations and measurements of single leptons by PHENIX.
J/Psi production in p+p collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV has been Measured in the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) over a rapidity range of -2.2 < y < 2.2 and a transverse momentum range of 0 < pT < 9 GeV/c. The statistics available allow a detailed measurement of both the pT and rapidity distributions and are sufficient to constrain production models. The total cross section times branching ratio determined for J/Psi production is B_{ll} sigma_pp^J/psi = 178 +/- 3(stat) +/- 53(syst) +/- 18(norm) nb.
The PHENIX experiment has measured mid-rapidity transverse momentum spectra (0.4 < p_T < 4.0 GeV/c) of single electrons as a function of centrality in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. Contributions to the raw spectra from photon conversions and Dalitz decays of light neutral mesons are measured by introducing a thin (1.7% X_0) converter into the PHENIX acceptance and are statistically removed. The subtracted ``non-photonic'' electron spectra are primarily due to the semi-leptonic decays of hadrons containing heavy quarks (charm and bottom). For all centralities, charm production is found to scale with the nuclear overlap function, T_AA. For minimum-bias collisions the charm cross section per binary collision is N_cc^bar/T_AA = 622 +/- 57 (stat.) +/- 160 (sys.) microbarns.
The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has measured J/psi production for rapidities 2.2 < y < 2.2 in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The J/psi invariant yield and nuclear modification factor R_AA as a function of centrality, transverse momentum and rapidity are reported. A suppression of J/psi relative to binary collision scaling of proton-proton reaction yields is observed. Models which describe the lower energy J/Psi data at the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) invoking only J/psi destruction based on the local medium density would predict a significantly larger suppression at RHIC and more suppression at mid rapidity than at forward rapidity. Both trends are contradicted by our data.
J/psi production in d+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV has been measured by the PHENIX experiment at rapidities -2.2 < y < +2.4. The cross sections and nuclear dependence of J/\psi production versus rapidity, transverse momentum, and centrality are obtained and compared to lower energy p+A results and to theoretical models. The observed nuclear dependence in d+Au collisions is found to be modest, suggesting that the absorption in the final state is weak and the shadowing of the gluon distributions is small and consistent with Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi-based parameterizations that fit deep-inelastic scattering and Drell-Yan data at lower energies.
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