A study of multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions of inclusive photons measured in pp and p$-$Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon$-$nucleon collision of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV using the ALICE detector in the forward pseudorapidity region $2.3 < \eta_{\rm lab} < 3.9$ is presented. Measurements in p$-$Pb collisions are reported for two beam configurations in which the directions of the proton and lead ion beam were reversed. The pseudorapidity distributions in p$-$Pb collisions are obtained for seven centrality classes which are defined based on different event activity estimators, i.e., the charged-particle multiplicity measured at midrapidity as well as the energy deposited in a calorimeter at beam rapidity. The inclusive photon multiplicity distributions for both pp and p$-$Pb collisions are described by double negative binomial distributions. The pseudorapidity distributions of inclusive photons are compared to those of charged particles at midrapidity in \pp collisions and for different centrality classes in p$-$Pb collisions. The results are compared to predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators. None of the generators considered in this paper reproduces the inclusive photon multiplicity distributions in the reported multiplicity range. The pseudorapidity distributions are, however, better described by the same generators.
We present first measurements of charged and neutral particle-flow correlations in pp collisions using the ATLAS calorimeters. Data were collected in 2009 and 2010 at centre-of-mass energies of 900 GeV and 7 TeV. Events were selected using a minimum-bias trigger which required a charged particle in scintillation counters on either side of the interaction point. Particle flows, sensitive to the underlying event, are measured using clusters of energy in the ATLAS calorimeters, taking advantage of their fine granularity. No Monte Carlo generator used in this analysis can accurately describe the measurements. The results are independent of those based on charged particles measured by the ATLAS tracking systems and can be used to constrain the parameters of Monte Carlo generators.
Measurements of charged particle distributions, sensitive to the underlying event, have been performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are based on data collected using a minimum-bias trigger to select proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 900 GeV and 7 TeV. The 'underlying event' is defined as those aspects of a hadronic interaction attributed not to the hard scattering process, but rather to the accompanying interactions of the rest of the proton. Three regions are defined in azimuthal angle with respect to the highest-pt charged particle in the event, such that the region transverse to the dominant momentum-flow is most sensitive to the underlying event. In each of these regions, distributions of the charged particle multiplicity, pt density, and average pt are measured. The data show a higher underlying event activity than that predicted by Monte Carlo models tuned to pre-LHC data.
Spectra of identified charged hadrons are measured in pp collisions at the LHC for sqrt(s) = 0.9, 2.76, and 7 TeV. Charged pions, kaons, and protons in the transverse-momentum range pt approximately 0.1-1.7 GeV and for rapidities abs(y) < 1 are identified via their energy loss in the CMS silicon tracker. The average pt increases rapidly with the mass of the hadron and the event charged-particle multiplicity, independently of the center-of-mass energy. The fully corrected pt spectra and integrated yields are compared to various tunes of the PYTHIA6 and PYTHIA8 event generators.
The paper presents studies of Bose-Einstein Correlations (BEC) for pairs of like-sign charged particles measured in the kinematic range $p_{\rm T}>$ 100 MeV and $|\eta|<$ 2.5 in proton--proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 0.9 and 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The integrated luminosities are approximately 7 $\mu$b$^{-1}$, 190 $\mu$b$^{-1}$ and 12.4 nb$^{-1}$ for 0.9 TeV, 7 TeV minimum-bias and 7 TeV high-multiplicity data samples, respectively. The multiplicity dependence of the BEC parameters characterizing the correlation strength and the correlation source size are investigated for charged-particle multiplicities of up to 240. A saturation effect in the multiplicity dependence of the correlation source size is observed using the high-multiplicity 7 TeV data sample. The dependence of the BEC parameters on the average transverse momentum of the particle pair is also investigated.
The underlying event activity in proton-proton collisions at forward pseudorapidity (-6.6 < eta < -5.2) is studied with the CMS detector at the LHC, using a novel observable: the ratio of the forward energy density, dE/d(eta), for events with a charged-particle jet produced at central pseudorapidity (abs(eta[jet]) < 2) to the forward energy density for inclusive events. This forward energy density ratio is measured as a function of the central jet transverse momentum, pt, at three different pp centre-of-mass energies (sqrt(s) = 0.9, 2.76, and 7 TeV). In addition, the sqrt(s) evolution of the forward energy density is studied in inclusive events and in events with a central jet. The results are compared to those of Monte Carlo event generators for pp collisions and are discussed in terms of the underlying event. Whereas the dependence of the forward energy density ratio on jet pt at each sqrt(s) separately can be well reproduced by some models, all models fail to simultaneously describe the increase of the forward energy density with sqrt(s) in both inclusive events and in events with a central jet.
The PHENIX Collaboration has measured the ratio of the yields of $\psi(2S)$ to $\psi(1S)$ mesons produced in $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Al, $p$$+$Au, and $^{3}$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV over the forward and backward rapidity intervals $1.2<|y|<2.2$. We find that the ratio in $p$$+$$p$ collisions is consistent with measurements at other collision energies. In collisions with nuclei, we find that in the forward ($p$-going or $^{3}$He-going) direction, the relative yield of $\psi(2S)$ mesons to $\psi(1S)$ mesons is consistent with the value measured in \pp collisions. However, in the backward (nucleus-going) direction, the $\psi(2S)$ is preferentially suppressed by a factor of $\sim$2. This suppression is attributed in some models to breakup of the weakly-bound $\psi(2S)$ through final state interactions with comoving particles, which have a higher density in the nucleus-going direction. These breakup effects may compete with color screening in a deconfined quark-gluon plasma to produce sequential suppression of excited quarkonia states.
Measurements of inclusive charged-hadron transverse-momentum and pseudorapidity distributions are presented for proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 0.9 and 2.36 TeV. The data were collected with the CMS detector during the LHC commissioning in December 2009. For non-single-diffractive interactions, the average charged-hadron transverse momentum is measured to be 0.46 +/- 0.01 (stat.) +/- 0.01 (syst.) GeV/c at 0.9 TeV and 0.50 +/- 0.01 (stat.) +/- 0.01 (syst.) GeV/c at 2.36 TeV, for pseudorapidities between -2.4 and +2.4. At these energies, the measured pseudorapidity densities in the central region, dN(charged)/d(eta) for |eta| < 0.5, are 3.48 +/- 0.02 (stat.) +/- 0.13 (syst.) and 4.47 +/- 0.04 (stat.) +/- 0.16 (syst.), respectively. The results at 0.9 TeV are in agreement with previous measurements and confirm the expectation of near equal hadron production in p-pbar and pp collisions. The results at 2.36 TeV represent the highest-energy measurements at a particle collider to date.
The multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions of inclusive photons have been measured at forward rapidities ($2.3 < \eta < 3.9$) in proton-proton collisions at three center-of-mass energies, $\sqrt{s}=0.9$, 2.76 and 7 TeV using the ALICE detector. It is observed that the increase in the average photon multiplicity as a function of beam energy is compatible with both a logarithmic and a power-law dependence. The relative increase in average photon multiplicity produced in inelastic pp collisions at 2.76 and 7 TeV center-of-mass energies with respect to 0.9 TeV are 37.2% $\pm$ 0.3% (stat) $\pm$ 8.8% (sys) and 61.2% $\pm$ 0.3% (stat) $\pm$ 7.6% (sys), respectively. The photon multiplicity distributions for all center-of-mass energies are well described by negative binomial distributions. The multiplicity distributions are also presented in terms of KNO variables. The results are compared to model predictions, which are found in general to underestimate the data at large photon multiplicities, in particular at the highest center-of-mass energy. Limiting fragmentation behavior of photons has been explored with the data, but is not observed in the measured pseudorapidity range.
The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has measured transverse energy and charged particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 19.6, 130 and 200 GeV as a function of centrality. The presented results are compared to measurements from other RHIC experiments, and experiments at lower energies. The sqrt(s_NN) dependence of dE_T/deta and dN_ch/deta per pair of participants is consistent with logarithmic scaling for the most central events. The centrality dependence of dE_T/deta and dN_ch/deta is similar at all measured incident energies. At RHIC energies the ratio of transverse energy per charged particle was found independent of centrality and growing slowly with sqrt(s_NN). A survey of comparisons between the data and available theoretical models is also presented.
Charged-pion-interferometry measurements were made with respect to the 2$^{\rm nd}$- and 3$^{\rm rd}$-order event plane for Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. A strong azimuthal-angle dependence of the extracted Gaussian-source radii was observed with respect to both the 2$^{\rm nd}$- and 3$^{\rm rd}$-order event planes. The results for the 2$^{\rm nd}$-order dependence indicate that the initial eccentricity is reduced during the medium evolution, but not reversed in the final state, which is consistent with previous results. In contrast, the results for the 3$^{\rm rd}$-order dependence indicate that the initial triangular shape is significantly reduced and potentially reversed by the end of the medium evolution, and that the 3$^{\rm rd}$-order oscillations are largely dominated by the dynamical effects from triangular flow.
We present a measurement of two-particle angular correlations in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV. The collision events were collected during 2009 and 2010 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using a single-arm minimum bias trigger. Correlations are measured for charged particles produced in the kinematic range of transverse momentum pT > 100 MeV and pseudorapidity |eta| < 2.5. A complex structure in pseudorapidity and azimuth is observed at both collision energies. Results are compared to Pythia 8 and Herwig++ as well as to the AMBT2B, DW and Perugia 2011 tunes of Pythia 6. The data are not satisfactorily described by any of these models.
Event-by-event fluctuations of the mean transverse momentum of charged particles produced in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 0.9, 2.76 and 7 TeV, and Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV are studied as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity using the ALICE detector at the LHC. Dynamical fluctuations indicative of correlated particle emission are observed in all systems. The results in pp collisions show little dependence on collision energy. The Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and PHOJET are in qualitative agreement with the data. Peripheral Pb-Pb data exhibit a similar multiplicity dependence as that observed in pp. In central Pb-Pb, the results deviate from this trend, featuring a significant reduction of the fluctuation strength. The results in Pb--Pb are in qualitative agreement with previous measurements in Au-Au at lower collision energies and with expectations from models that incorporate collective phenomena.
We report on the nuclear dependence of transverse single-spin asymmetries (TSSAs) in the production of positively-charged hadrons in polarized $p^{\uparrow}+p$, $p^{\uparrow}+$Al and $p^{\uparrow}+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. The measurements have been performed at forward rapidity ($1.4<\eta<2.4$) over the range of $1.8<p_{T}<7.0$ GeV$/c$ and $0.1<x_{F}<0.2$. We observed a positive asymmetry $A_{N}$ for positively-charged hadrons in \polpp collisions, and a significantly reduced asymmetry in $p^{\uparrow}$+$A$ collisions. These results reveal a nuclear dependence of charged hadron $A_N$ in a regime where perturbative techniques are relevant. These results provide new opportunities to use \polpA collisions as a tool to investigate the rich phenomena behind TSSAs in hadronic collisions and to use TSSA as a new handle in studying small-system collisions.
The PHENIX experiment presents results from the RHIC 2005 run with polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV, for inclusive \pi^0 production at mid-rapidity. Unpolarized cross section results are given for transverse momenta p_T=0.5 to 20 GeV/c, extending the range of published data to both lower and higher p_T. The cross section is described well for p_T < 1 GeV/c by an exponential in p_T, and, for p_T > 2 GeV/c, by perturbative QCD. Double helicity asymmetries A_LL are presented based on a factor of five improvement in uncertainties as compared to previously published results, due to both an improved beam polarization of 50%, and to higher integrated luminosity. These measurements are sensitive to the gluon polarization in the proton, and exclude maximal values for the gluon polarization.
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.
We present azimuthal angle correlations of intermediate transverse momentum (1-4 GeV/c) hadrons from {dijets} in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 62.4 and 200 GeV. The away-side dijet induced azimuthal correlation is broadened, non-Gaussian, and peaked away from \Delta\phi=\pi in central and semi-central collisions in all the systems. The broadening and peak location are found to depend upon the number of participants in the collision, but not on the collision energy or beam nuclei. These results are consistent with sound or shock wave models, but pose challenges to Cherenkov gluon radiation models.
Charmonium is a valuable probe in heavy-ion collisions to study the properties of the quark gluon plasma, and is also an interesting probe in small collision systems to study cold nuclear matter effects, which are also present in large collision systems. With the recent observations of collective behavior of produced particles in small system collisions, measurements of the modification of charmonium in small systems have become increasingly relevant. We present the results of J/ψ measurements at forward and backward rapidity in various small collision systems, p+p, p+Al, p+Au and 3He+Au, at √sNN =200 GeV. The results are presented in the form of the observable RAB, the nuclear modification factor, a measure of the ratio of the J/ψ invariant yield compared to the scaled yield in p+p collisions. We examine the rapidity, transverse momentum, and collision centrality dependence of nuclear effects on J/ψ production with different projectile sizes p and 3He, and different target sizes Al and Au. The modification is found to be strongly dependent on the target size, but to be very similar for p+Au and 3He+Au. However, for 0%–20% central collisions at backward rapidity, the modification for 3He+Au is found to be smaller than that for p+Au, with a mean fit to the ratio of 0.89±0.03(stat)±0.08(syst), possibly indicating final state effects due to the larger projectile size.
The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured the differential cross section of $\phi$(1020) meson production at forward rapidity in $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$510 GeV via the dimuon decay channel. The integrated cross section in the rapidity and $p_T$ ranges $1.2<|y|<2.2$ and $2<p_T<7$ GeV/$c$ is $\sigma_\phi=2.79 \pm 0.20\,{\rm (stat)} \pm 0.17\,{\rm (syst)} \pm 0.34\, {\rm (norm)} \times 10^{-2}$~mb. The energy dependence of $\sigma_\phi$ ($1.2<|y|<2.2$; $2<p_T<5$ GeV/$c$) is studied using the PHENIX measurements at $\sqrt{s}=$200 and 510 GeV and the Large-Hadron-Collider measurements at $\sqrt{s}=$2.76 and 7 TeV. The experimental results are compared to various event generator predictions (pythia6, pythia8, phojet, ampt, epos3, and epos-lhc).
The double helicity asymmetry in neutral pion production for p_T = 1 to 12 GeV/c has been measured with the PHENIX experiment in order to access the gluon spin contribution, Delta-G, to the proton spin. Measured asymmetries are consistent with zero, and at a theory scale of \mu^2 = 4 GeV^2 give Delta-G^[0.02,0.3] = 0.1 to 0.2, with a constraint of -0.7 < Delta-G^[0.02,0.3] < 0.5 at Delta-chi^2 = 9 (~3 sigma) for our sampled gluon momentum fraction (x) range, 0.02 to 0.3. The results are obtained using predictions for our measured asymmetries generated from four representative fits to polarized deep inelastic scattering data. We also consider the dependence of the Delta-G constraint on the choice of theoretical scale, a dominant uncertainty in these predictions.
Measurements of the midrapidity transverse energy distribution, $d\Et/d\eta$, are presented for $p$$+$$p$, $d$$+$Au, and Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV and additionally for Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=62.4$ and 130 GeV. The $d\Et/d\eta$ distributions are first compared with the number of nucleon participants $N_{\rm part}$, number of binary collisions $N_{\rm coll}$, and number of constituent-quark participants $N_{qp}$ calculated from a Glauber model based on the nuclear geometry. For Au$+$Au, $\mean{d\Et/d\eta}/N_{\rm part}$ increases with $N_{\rm part}$, while $\mean{d\Et/d\eta}/N_{qp}$ is approximately constant for all three energies. This indicates that the two component ansatz, $dE_{T}/d\eta \propto (1-x) N_{\rm part}/2 + x N_{\rm coll}$, which has been used to represent $E_T$ distributions, is simply a proxy for $N_{qp}$, and that the $N_{\rm coll}$ term does not represent a hard-scattering component in $E_T$ distributions. The $dE_{T}/d\eta$ distributions of Au$+$Au and $d$$+$Au are then calculated from the measured $p$$+$$p$ $E_T$ distribution using two models that both reproduce the Au$+$Au data. However, while the number-of-constituent-quark-participant model agrees well with the $d$$+$Au data, the additive-quark model does not.
Asymmetric nuclear collisions of $p$$+$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.
PHENIX has measured the e^+e^- pair continuum in sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV Au+Au and p+p collisions over a wide range of mass and transverse momenta. The e^+e^- yield is compared to the expectations from hadronic sources, based on PHENIX measurements. In the intermediate mass region, between the masses of the phi and the J/psi meson, the yield is consistent with expectations from correlated c^bar-c production, though other mechanisms are not ruled out. In the low mass region (below the phi) the p+p inclusive mass spectrum is well described by known contributions from light meson decays. In contrast, the Au+Au minimum bias inclusive mass spectrum in this region shows an enhancement by a factor of 4.7+/-0.4(stat)+/-1.5(syst)+/-0.9(model) At low mass (m_ee<0.3 GeV/c^2) and high p_T (1<p_T<5 GeV/c) an enhanced e^+e^- pair yield is observed that is consistent with production of virtual direct photons. This excess is used to infer the yield of real direct photons. In central Au+Au collisions, the excess of the direct photon yield over the p+p is exponential in p_T, with inverse slope T=221+/-19(stat)+/-19(syst) MeV. Hydrodynamical models with initial temperatures ranging from T_init ~=300--600 MeV at times of 0.6--0.15 fm/c after the collision are in qualitative agreement with the direct photon data in Au+Au. For low p_T<1 GeV/c the low mass region shows a further significant enhancement that increases with centrality and has an inverse slope of T ~=100 MeV. Theoretical models under predict the low mass, low p_T enhancement.
The PHENIX experiment has measured the suppression of semi-inclusive single high transverse momentum pi^0's in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The present understanding of this suppression is in terms of energy-loss of the parent (fragmenting) parton in a dense color-charge medium. We have performed a quantitative comparison between various parton energy-loss models and our experimental data. The statistical point-to-point uncorrelated as well as correlated systematic uncertainties are taken into account in the comparison. We detail this methodology and the resulting constraint on the model parameters, such as the initial color-charge density dN^g/dy, the medium transport coefficient <q^hat>, or the initial energy-loss parameter epsilon_0. We find that high transverse momentum pi^0 suppression in Au+Au collisions has sufficient precision to constrain these model dependent parameters at the +/1 20%-25% (one standard deviation) level. These constraints include only the experimental uncertainties, and further studies are needed to compute the corresponding theoretical uncertainties.
The transverse single-spin asymmetries of neutral pions and non-identified charged hadrons have been measured at mid-rapidity in polarized proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The data cover a transverse momentum (p_T) range 0.5-5.0 GeV/c for charged hadrons and 1.0-5.0 GeV/c for neutral pions, at a Feynman-x (x_F) value of approximately zero. The asymmetries seen in this previously unexplored kinematic region are consistent with zero within statistical errors of a few percent. In addition, the inclusive charged hadron cross section at mid-rapidity from 0.5 < p_T < 7.0 GeV/c is presented and compared to NLO pQCD calculations. Successful description of the unpolarized cross section above ~2 GeV/c using NLO pQCD suggests that pQCD is applicable in the interpretation of the asymmetry results in the relevant kinematic range.
We report the transverse single-spin asymmetries of $J/\psi$ production at forward and backward rapidity, $1.2<|y|<2.2$, as a function of $J/\psi$ transverse momentum ($p_T$) and Feynman-$x$ ($x_F$). The data analyzed were recorded by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in 2015 from $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Al, and $p$$+$Au collisions with transversely polarized proton beams at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. At this collision energy, single-spin asymmetries for heavy-flavor particle production of $p$$+$$p$ collisions provide access to the spin-dependent gluon distribution and higher-twist correlation functions inside the nucleon, such as the gluon Qiu-Sterman and trigluon correlation functions. Proton+nucleus collisions offer an excellent opportunity to study nuclear effects on the correlation functions. The data indicate negative asymmetries at the two-standard-deviation level in the $p$$+$Au data for $p_T<2$ GeV/$c$ at both forward and backward rapidity, while in $p$$+$$p$ and $p$$+$Al collisions the asymmetries are consistent with zero within the range of experimental uncertainties.
We have measured the cross section and single spin asymmetries from forward $W^{\pm}\rightarrow\mu^{\pm}\nu$ production in longitudinally polarized $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=510$ GeV using the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The cross sections are consistent with previous measurements at this collision energy, while the most forward and backward longitudinal single spin asymmetries provide new insights into the sea quark helicities in the proton. The charge of the W bosons provides a natural flavor separation of the participating partons.
The PHENIX collaboration presents a systematic study of $\pi^0$ production from $p$ $+$ $p$, $p$ $+$Al, $p$ $+$Au, $d$ $+$Au, and $^{3}$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. Measurements were performed with different centrality selections as well as the total inelastic, 0%--100%, selection for all collision systems. For 0%--100% collisions, the nuclear modification factors, $R_{xA}$, are consistent with unity for $p_T$ above 8 GeV/$c$, but exhibit an enhancement in peripheral collisions and a suppression in central collisions. The enhancement and suppression characteristics are similar for all systems for the same centrality class. It is shown that for high-$p_T$-$\pi^0$ production, the nucleons in the $d$ and $^3$He interact mostly independently with the Au nucleus and that the counter intuitive centrality dependence is likely due to a physical correlation between multiplicity and the presence of a hard scattering process. These observations disfavor models where parton energy loss has a significant contribution to nuclear modifications in small systems. Nuclear modifications at lower $p_T$ resemble the Cronin effect -- an increase followed by a peak in central or inelastic collisions and a plateau in peripheral collisions. The peak height has a characteristic ordering by system size as $p$ $+$Au $>$ $d$ $+$Au $>$ $^{3}$He$+$Au $>$ $p$ $+$Al. For collisions with Au ions, current calculations based on initial state cold nuclear matter effects result in the opposite order, suggesting the presence of other contributions to nuclear modifications, in particular at lower $p_T$.
We have measured the azimuthal anisotropy of pi0's for 1 < pT < 18 GeV/c for Au+Au collisions at sqrt s_NN = 200 GeV. The observed anisotropy shows a gradual decrease in 3 < pT < 7 - 10 GeV/c, but remains positive beyond 10 GeV/c. The magnitude of this anisotropy is under-predicted, up to at least 10 GeV/c, by current perturbative QCD (pQCD) energy-loss model calculations. An estimate of the increase in anisotropy expected from initial-geometry modification due to gluon saturation effects and initial-geometry fluctuations is insufficient to account for this discrepancy. Calculations which implement a path length dependence steeper than what is implied by current pQCD energy-loss models, show reasonable agreement with the data.
We present measurements of two-particle angular correlations between high-transverse-momentum ($2<p_T<11$ GeV/$c$) $\pi^0$ observed at midrapidity ($|\eta|<0.35$) and particles produced either at forward ($3.1<\eta<3.9$) or backward ($-3.7<\eta<-3.1$) rapidity in $d$$+$Au and $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. The azimuthal angle correlations for particle pairs with this large rapidity gap in the Au-going direction exhibit a ridge-like structure that persists up to $p_T{\approx}6$ GeV/$c$ and which strongly depends on collision centrality, which is a similar characteristic to the hydrodynamical particle flow in A+A collisions. The ridge-like structure is absent in the $d$-going direction as well as in $p$$+$$p$ collisions, in the transverse-momentum range studied. The results indicate that the ridge-like structure is shifted in the Au-going direction toward more central collisions, similar to the charged-particle pseudorapidity distributions.
The inclusive production of D*+- mesons in photon-photon collisions has been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP at e+e- centre-of-mass energies of 183 and 189GeV. The D* mesons are reconstructed in their decay to D0pi+ with the D0 observed in the two decay modes Kpi+ and Kpi+pi-pi+. After background subtraction, 100.4+-12.6(stat) D*+- mesons have been selected in events without observed scattered beam electron ("anti-tagged") and 29.8+-5.9 (stat) D*+- mesons in events where one beam electron is scattered into the detector ("single-tagged"). Direct and single-resolved events are studied separately. Differential cross-sections as functions of the D* transverse momentum p_t and pseudorapidity \eta are presented in the kinematic region 2<p_t<12GeV and \eta<1.5. They are compared to next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD calculations. The total cross-section for the process (e+e- to e+e-ccbar), where the charm quarks are produced in the collision of two quasi-real photons, is measured to be 842+-97(stat)+-75(syst)+-196(extrapolation)pb. A first measurement of the charm structure function F2 of the photon is performed in the kinematic range 0.0014<x<0.87 and 5<Q^2<100 GeV^2, and the result is compared to a NLO perturbative QCD calculation.
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.
On 23rd November 2009, during the early commissioning of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), two counter-rotating proton bunches were circulated for the first time concurrently in the machine, at the LHC injection energy of 450 GeV per beam. Although the proton intensity was very low, with only one pilot bunch per beam, and no systematic attempt was made to optimize the collision optics, all LHC experiments reported a number of collision candidates. In the ALICE experiment, the collision region was centred very well in both the longitudinal and transverse directions and 284 events were recorded in coincidence with the two passing proton bunches. The events were immediately reconstructed and analyzed both online and offline. We have used these events to measure the pseudorapidity density of charged primary particles in the central region. In the range |$\eta$| < 0.5, we obtain dNch/deta = 3.10 $\pm$ 0.13 (stat.) $\pm$ 0.22 (syst.) for all inelastic interactions, and dNch/deta = 3.51 $\pm$ 0.15 (stat.) $\pm$ 0.25 (syst.) for non-single diffractive interactions. These results are consistent with previous measurements in proton-antiproton interactions at the same centre-of-mass energy at the CERN SppS collider. They also illustrate the excellent functioning and rapid progress of the LHC accelerator, and of both the hardware and software of the ALICE experiment, in this early start-up phase.
The chiral magnetic effect (CME) refers to charge separation along a strong magnetic field due to imbalanced chirality of quarks in local parity and charge-parity violating domains in quantum chromodynamics. The experimental measurement of the charge separation is made difficult by the presence of a major background from elliptic azimuthal anisotropy. This background and the CME signal have different sensitivities to the spectator and participant planes, and could thus be determined by measurements with respect to these planes. We report such measurements in Au+Au collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. It is found that the charge separation, with the flow background removed, is consistent with zero in peripheral (large impact parameter) collisions. Some indication of finite CME signals is seen in mid-central (intermediate impact parameter) collisions. Significant residual background effects may, however, still be present.
The PHENIX experiment has measured mid-rapidity transverse momentum spectra (0.4 < p_T < 5.0 GeV/c) of electrons as a function of centrality in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. Contributions from photon conversions and from light hadron decays, mainly Dalitz decays of pi^0 and eta mesons, were removed. The resulting non-photonic electron spectra are primarily due to the semi-leptonic decays of hadrons carrying heavy quarks. Nuclear modification factors were determined by comparison to non-photonic electrons in p+p collisions. A significant suppression of electrons at high p_T is observed in central Au+Au collisions, indicating substantial energy loss of heavy quarks.
The azimuthal distribution of identified pi^0 and inclusive photons has been measured in sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions with the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The second harmonic parameter (v_2) was measured to describe the observed anisotropy of the azimuthal distribution. The measured inclusive photon v_2 is consistent with the value expected for the photons from hadron decay and is also consistent with the lack of direct photon signal over the measured p_T range 1-6 GeV/c. An attempt is made to extract v_2 of direct photons.
We present STAR measurements of azimuthal anisotropy by means of the two- and four-particle cumulants $v_2$ ($v_2\{2\}$ and $v_2\{4\}$) for Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at center of mass energies $\sqrt{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}} = 62.4$ and 200 GeV. The difference between $v_2\{2\}^2$ and $v_2\{4\}^2$ is related to $v_{2}$ fluctuations ($\sigma_{v_2}$) and nonflow $(\delta_{2})$. We present an upper limit to $\sigma_{v_2}/v_{2}$. Following the assumption that eccentricity fluctuations $\sigma_{\epsilon}$ dominate $v_2$ fluctuations $\frac{\sigma_{v_2}}{v_2} \approx \frac{\sigma_{\epsilon}}{\epsilon}$ we deduce the nonflow implied for several models of eccentricity fluctuations that would be required for consistency with $v_2\{2\}$ and $v_2\{4\}$. We also present results on the ratio of $v_2$ to eccentricity.
Inclusive dijet production at large pseudorapidity intervals (delta_eta) between the two jets has been suggested as a regime for observing BFKL dynamics. We have measured the dijet cross section for large delta_eta in ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1800 and 630 GeV using the DO detector. The partonic cross section increases strongly with the size of delta_eta. The observed growth is even stronger than expected on the basis of BFKL resummation in the leading logarithmic approximation. The growth of the partonic cross section can be accommodated with an effective BFKL intercept of a_{BFKL}(20GeV)=1.65+/-0.07.
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$$<$ $1$ GeV/$c$, but there is qualitative agreement with the measurements for $2$ $<$ $p_T$ $<$ $2.5$ GeV/$c$.
Measurements of transverse-single-spin asymmetries ($A_{N}$) in $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$62.4 and 200 GeV with the PHENIX detector at RHIC are presented. At midrapidity, $A_{N}$ is measured for neutral pion and eta mesons reconstructed from diphoton decay, and at forward rapidities, neutral pions are measured using both diphotons and electromagnetic clusters. The neutral-pion measurement of $A_{N}$ at midrapidity is consistent with zero with uncertainties a factor of 20 smaller than previous publications, which will lead to improved constraints on the gluon Sivers function. At higher rapidities, where the valence quark distributions are probed, the data exhibit sizable asymmetries. In comparison with previous measurements in this kinematic region, the new data extend the kinematic coverage in $\sqrt{s}$ and $p_T$, and it is found that the asymmetries depend only weakly on $\sqrt{s}$. The origin of the forward $A_{N}$ is presently not understood quantitatively. The extended reach to higher $p_T$ probes the transition between transverse momentum dependent effects at low $p_T$ and multi-parton dynamics at high $p_T$.
The production of transverse energy clusters in minimum bias proton-antiproton collisions at the CERN SPS Collider is studied with the UA1 detector over a new range of centre of mass energies (√ s = 0.2−0.9 TeV). This study is intended to investigate how low in transverse momentum perturbative QCD is able to describe the dynamics of hadron collisions. We observe that clusters with transverse energy in excess of a few GeV exhibit properties in agreement with QCD expectations for parton scattering, supporting their interpretation in terms of jet production. We find that the jet-event rate represents a sizeable fraction of the inelastic rate and is increasing with √ s over the measured energy range.
Azimuthal angle \Delta\phi correlations are presented for charged hadrons from dijets for 0.4 < p_T < 10 GeV/c in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. With increasing p_T, the away-side distribution evolves from a broad to a concave shape, then to a convex shape. Comparisons to p+p data suggest that the away-side can be divided into a partially suppressed 'head' region centered at Delta\phi ~ \pi, and an enhanced 'shoulder' region centered at Delta\phi ~ \pi +/- 1.1. The p_T spectrum for the 'head' region softens toward central collisions, consistent with the onset of jet quenching. The spectral slope for the 'shoulder' region is independent of centrality and trigger p_T, which offers constraints on energy transport mechanisms and suggests that the 'shoulder' region contains the medium response to energetic jets.
Suppression of the $J/\psi$ nuclear-modification factor has been seen as a trademark signature of final-state effects in large collision systems for decades. In small systems, the nuclear modification was attributed to cold-nuclear-matter effects until the observation of strong differential suppression of the $\psi(2S)$ state in $p/d$ $+$ $A$ collisions suggested the presence of final-state effects. Results of $J/\psi$ and $\psi(2S)$ measurements in the dimuon decay channel are presented here for $p$ $+$ $p$, $p$ $+$Al, and $p$ $+$Au collision systems at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. The results are predominantly shown in the form of the nuclear-modification factor, $R_{pA}$, the ratio of the $\psi(2S)$ invariant yield per nucleon-nucleon collision in collisions of proton on target nucleus to that in $p$ $+$ $p$ collisions. Measurements of the $J/\psi$ and $\psi(2S)$ nuclear-modification factor are compared with shadowing and transport-model predictions, as well as to complementary measurements at Large-Hadron-Collider energies.
The cross section and transverse single-spin asymmetries of $\mu^{-}$ and $\mu^{+}$ from open heavy-flavor decays in polarized $p$+$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV were measured by the PHENIX experiment during 2012 at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Because heavy-flavor production is dominated by gluon-gluon interactions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV, these measurements offer a unique opportunity to obtain information on the trigluon correlation functions. The measurements are performed at forward and backward rapidity ($1.4<|y|<2.0$) over the transverse momentum range of $1.25<p_T<7$ GeV/$c$ for the cross section and $1.25<p_T<5$ GeV/$c$ for the asymmetry measurements. The obtained cross section is compared to a fixed-order-plus-next-to-leading-log perturbative-quantum-chromodynamics calculation. The asymmetry results are consistent with zero within uncertainties, and a model calculation based on twist-3 three-gluon correlations agrees with the data.
The charged particle transverse momentum (pT) spectra are presented for pp collisions at sqrt(s)=0.9 and 7 TeV. The data samples were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to integrated luminosities of 231 inverse microbarns and 2.96 inverse picobarns, respectively. Calorimeter-based high-transverse-energy triggers are employed to enhance the statistical reach of the high-pT measurements. The results are compared with both leading-order QCD and with an empirical scaling of measurements at different collision energies using the scaling variable xT = 2 pT/sqrt(s) over the pT range up to 200 GeV/c. Using a combination of xT scaling and direct interpolation at fixed pT, a reference transverse momentum spectrum at sqrt(s)=2.76 TeV is constructed, which can be used for studying high-pT particle suppression in the dense QCD medium produced in heavy-ion collisions at that centre-of-mass energy.
The strength of forward-backward (FB) multiplicity correlations is measured by the ALICE detector in proton-proton (pp) collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$, 2.76 and 7 TeV. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region ($|\eta| < 0.8$) for the transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}>0.3$ GeV/$c$. Two separate pseudorapidity windows of width ($\delta \eta$) ranging from 0.2 to 0.8 are chosen symmetrically around $\eta=0$. The multiplicity correlation strength ($b_{\rm cor}$) is studied as a function of the pseudorapidity gap ($\eta_{\rm gap}$) between the two windows as well as the width of these windows. The correlation strength is found to decrease with increasing $\eta_{\rm gap}$ and shows a non-linear increase with $\delta\eta$. A sizable increase of the correlation strength with the collision energy, which cannot be explained exclusively by the increase of the mean multiplicity inside the windows, is observed. The correlation coefficient is also measured for multiplicities in different configurations of two azimuthal sectors selected within the symmetric FB $\eta$-windows. Two different contributions, the short-range (SR) and the long-range (LR), are observed. The energy dependence of $b_{\rm cor}$ is found to be weak for the SR component while it is strong for the LR component. Moreover, the correlation coefficient is studied for particles belonging to various transverse momentum intervals chosen to have the same mean multiplicity. Both SR and LR contributions to $b_{\rm cor}$ are found to increase with $p_{\rm T}$ in this case. Results are compared to PYTHIA and PHOJET event generators and to a string-based phenomenological model. The observed dependencies of $b_{\rm cor}$ add new constraints on phenomenological models.
The ALICE collaboration at the LHC reports measurement of the inclusive production cross section of electrons from semi-leptonic decays of beauty hadrons with rapidity $|y|<0.8$ and transverse momentum $1<p_{\mathrm{T}}<10$ GeV/$c$, in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = $ 2.76 TeV. Electrons not originating from semi-electronic decay of beauty hadrons are suppressed using the impact parameter of the corresponding tracks. The production cross section of beauty decay electrons is compared to the result obtained with an alternative method which uses the distribution of the azimuthal angle between heavy-flavour decay electrons and charged hadrons. Perturbative QCD calculations agree with the measured cross section within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties. The integrated visible cross section, $\sigma_{\mathrm{b} \rightarrow \mathrm{e}} = 3.47\pm0.40(\mathrm{stat})^{+1.12}_{-1.33}(\mathrm{sys})\pm0.07(\mathrm{norm}) \mu$b, was extrapolated to full phase space using Fixed Order plus Next-to-Leading Log (FONLL) predictions to obtain the total b$\bar{\mathrm{b}}$ production cross section, $\sigma_{\mathrm{b\bar{b}}} = 130\pm15.1(\mathrm{stat})^{+42.1}_{-49.8}(\mathrm{sys})^{+3.4}_{-3.1}(\mathrm{extr})\pm2.5(\mathrm{norm})\pm4.4(\mathrm{BR}) \mu$b.
Muon production at forward rapidity (1.5 < |\eta| < 1.8) has been measured by the PHENIX experiment over the transverse momentum range 1 < p_T \le 3 GeV/c in sqrt(s) = 200 GeV p+p collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. After statistically subtracting contributions from light hadron decays an excess remains which is attributed to the semileptonic decays of hadrons carrying heavy flavor, i.e. charm quarks or, at high p_T, bottom quarks. The resulting muon spectrum from heavy flavor decays is compared to PYTHIA and a next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculation. PYTHIA is used to determine the charm quark spectrum that would produce the observed muon excess. The corresponding differential cross section for charm quark production at forward rapidity is determined to be d\sigmac c^bar)/dy|_(y=1.6)=0.243 +/- 0.013 (stat.) +/- 0.105 (data syst.) ^(+0.049(-0.087) (PYTHIA syst.) mb.
Measurements of double-helicity asymmetries for inclusive hadron production in polarized p+p collisions are sensitive to helicity--dependent parton distribution functions, in particular to the gluon helicity distribution, Delta(g). This study focuses on the extraction of the double-helicity asymmetry in eta production: polarized p+p --> eta + X, the eta cross section, and the eta/pi^0 cross section ratio. The cross section and ratio measurements provide essential input for the extraction of fragmentation functions that are needed to access the helicity-dependent parton distribution functions.
We have measured the cross sections $d^2\sigma/dP_T d\eta$ for production of isolated direct photons in \pbarp collisions at two different center-of-mass energies, 1.8 TeV and 0.63 TeV, using the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). The normalization of both data sets agree with the predictions of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) for photon transverse momentum ($P_T$) of 25 GeV/c, but the shapes versus photon $P_T$ do not. These shape differences lead to a significant disagreement in the ratio of cross sections in the scaling variable $x_T (\equiv 2P_T/\sqrt{s}$). This disagreement in the $x_T$ ratio is difficult to explain with conventional theoretical uncertainties such as scale dependence and parton distribution parameterizations.