K. Aoki

Scaling properties of azimuthal anisotropy in Au plus Au and Cu plus Cu collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

Differential measurements of elliptic flow (v2) for Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV are used to test and validate predictions from perfect fluid hydrodynamics for scaling of v2 with eccentricity, system size, and transverse kinetic energy (KE T). For KE T identical with mT-m up to approximately 1 GeV the scaling is compatible with hydrodynamic expansion of a thermalized fluid. For large values of KE T mesons and baryons scale separately. Quark number scaling reveals a universal scaling of v2 for both mesons and baryons over the full KE T range for Au+Au. For Au+Au and Cu+Cu the scaling is more pronounced in terms of KE T, rather than transverse momentum.

Quadrupole anisotropy in dihadron azimuthal correlations in central d+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV

The PHENIX collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) reports measurements of azimuthal dihadron correlations near midrapidity in d+Au collisions at √(s(NN))=200 GeV. These measurements complement recent analyses by experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) involving central p+Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=5.02 TeV, which have indicated strong anisotropic long-range correlations in angular distributions of hadron pairs. The origin of these anisotropies is currently unknown. Various competing explanations include parton saturation and hydrodynamic flow. We observe qualitatively similar, but larger, anisotropies in d+Au collisions at RHIC compared to those seen in p+Pb collisions at the LHC. The larger extracted v2 values in d+Au are consistent with expectations from hydrodynamic calculations owing to the larger expected initial-state eccentricity compared with that from p+Pb collisions. When both are divided by an estimate of the initial-state eccentricity the scaled anisotropies follow a common trend with multiplicity that may extend to heavy ion data at RHIC and the LHC, where the anisotropies are widely thought to arise from hydrodynamic flow.

J/psi suppression at forward rapidity in Au plus Au collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

Heavy quarkonia are observed to be suppressed in relativistic heavy-ion collisions relative to their production in p + p collisions scaled by the number of binary collisions. In order to determine if this suppression is related to color screening of these states in the produced medium, one needs to account for other nuclear modifications including those in cold nuclear matter. In this paper, we present new measurements from the PHENIX 2007 data set of J/psi yields at forward rapidity (1.2 < vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.2) in Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. The data confirm the earlier finding that the suppression of J/. at forward rapidity is stronger than at midrapidity, while also extending the measurement to finer bins in collision centrality and higher transverse momentum (p(T)). We compare the experimental data to the most recent theoretical calculations that incorporate a variety of physics mechanisms including gluon saturation, gluon shadowing, initial-state parton energy loss, cold nuclear matter breakup, color screening, and charm recombination. We find J/psi suppression beyond cold-nuclear-matter effects. However, the current level of disagreement between models and d + Au data precludes using these models to quantify the hot-nuclear-matter suppression.

Neutral pion production with respect to centrality and reaction plane in Au plus Au collisions at root S-NN=200 GeV

The PHENIX experiment has measured the production of pi(0)s in Au + Au collisions at root S-NN = 200 GeV. The new data offer a fourfold increase in recorded luminosity, providing higher precision and a larger reach in transverse momentum, p(T), to 20 GeV/c. The production ratio of eta/pi(0) is 0.46 +/- 0.01(stat) +/- 0.05(syst), constant with p(T) and collision centrality. The observed ratio is consistent with earlier measurements, as well as with the p + p and d + Au values. pi(0) are suppressed by a factor of 5, as in earlier findings. However, with the improved statistical precision a small but significant rise of the nuclear modification factor R-AA vs p(T), with a slope of 0.0106 +/-(0.0034)(0.0029) (Gev/c)(-1), is discernible in central collisions. A phenomenological extraction of the average fractional parton energy loss shows a decrease with increasing p(T). To study the path-length dependence of suppression, the pi(0) yield is measured at different angles with respect to the event plane; a strong azimuthal dependence of the pi(0) R-AA is observed. The data are compared to theoretical models of parton energy loss as a function of the path length L in the medium. Models based on perturbative quantum chromodynamics are insufficient to describe the data, while a hybrid model utilizing pQCD for the hard interactions and anti-de-Sitter space/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) for the soft interactions is consistent with the data. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.87.034911

Spectra and ratios of identified particles in Au+Au and d+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV

The transverse momentum (p(T)) spectra and ratios of identified charged hadrons (pi(+/-), K-+/-, p, (p) over bar) produced in root s(NN) = 200 GeV Au + Au and d + Au collisions are reported in five different centrality classes for each collision species. The measurements of pions and protons are reported up to p(T) = 6 GeV/c (5 GeV/c), and the measurements of kaons are reported up to p(T) = 4 GeV/c (3.5 GeV/c) in Au + Au (d + Au) collisions. In the intermediate p(T) region, between 2 and 5 GeV/c, a significant enhancement of baryon-to-meson ratios compared to those measured in p + p collisions is observed. This enhancement is present in both Au + Au and d + Au collisions and increases as the collisions become more central. We compare a class of peripheral Au + Au collisions with a class of central d + Au collisions which have a comparable number of participating nucleons and binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The p(T)-dependent particle ratios for these classes display a remarkable similarity, which is then discussed.

Suppression of Back-to-Back Hadron Pairs at Forward Rapidity in d+ Au Collisions at sqrt [s_ {NN}]= 200 GeV

Back-to-back hadron pair yields in d+Au and p+p collisions at √s(NN)=200 GeV were measured with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Rapidity separated hadron pairs were detected with the trigger hadron at pseudorapidity |η|<0.35 and the associated hadron at forward rapidity (deuteron direction, 3.0<η<3.8). Pairs were also detected with both hadrons measured at forward rapidity; in this case, the yield of back-to-back hadron pairs in d+Au collisions with small impact parameters is observed to be suppressed by a factor of 10 relative to p+p collisions. The kinematics of these pairs is expected to probe partons in the Au nucleus with a low fraction x of the nucleon momenta, where the gluon densities rise sharply. The observed suppression as a function of nuclear thickness, p(T), and η points to cold nuclear matter effects arising at high parton densities.

Nuclear Modification of psi ', chi(c), and J/psi Production in d plus Au Collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

We present results for three charmonia states (ψ, χc, and J/ψ) in d+Au collisions at |y|<0.35 and sqrt[s(NN)]=200u2009u2009GeV. We find that the modification of the ψ yield relative to that of the J/ψ scales approximately with charged particle multiplicity at midrapidity across p+A, d+Au, and A+A results from the Super Proton Synchrotron and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. In large-impact-parameter collisions we observe a similar suppression for the ψ and J/ψ, while in small-impact-parameter collisions the more weakly bound ψ is more strongly suppressed. Owing to the short time spent traversing the Au nucleus, the larger ψ suppression in central events is not explained by an increase of the nuclear absorption owing to meson formation time effects.

Centrality categorization for Rp(d)+A in high-energy collisions

High-energy proton- and deuteron-nucleus collisions provide an excellent tool for studying a wide array of physics effects, including modifications of parton distribution functions in nuclei, gluon saturation, and color neutralization and hadronization in a nuclear environment, among others. All of these effects are expected to have a significant dependence on the size of the nuclear target and the impact parameter of the collision, also known as the collision centrality. In this article, we detail a method for determining centrality classes in p(d) + A collisions via cuts on the multiplicity at backward rapidity (i.e., the nucleus-going direction) and for determining systematic uncertainties in this procedure. For d + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV we find that the connection to geometry is confirmed by measuring the fraction of events in which a neutron from the deuteron does not interact with the nucleus. As an application, we consider the nuclear modification factors Rp(d)+A, for which there is a bias in the measured centrality-dependent yields owing to auto correlations between the process of interest and the backward-rapidity multiplicity. We determine the bias-correction factors within this framework. This method is further tested using the HIJING Monte Carlo generator. We find that for d + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV, these bias corrections are small and vary by less than 5% (10%) up to p(T) = 10 (20) GeV/c. In contrast, for p + Pb collisions at v root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV we find that these bias factors are an order of magnitude larger and strongly pT dependent, likely attributable to the larger effect of multiparton interactions.

Deviation from quark number scaling of the anisotropy parameter v(2) of pions, kaons, and protons in Au+Au collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

Measurements of the anisotropy parameter v(2) of identified hadrons (pions, kaons, and protons) as a function of centrality, transverse momentum p(T), and transverse kinetic energy KET at midrapidity (vertical bar eta vertical bar < 0.35) in Au + Au collisions at root s(N N) = 200 GeV are presented. Pions and protons are identified up to p(T) = 6 GeV/c, and kaons up to p(T) = 4 GeV/c, by combining information from time-of-flight and aerogel Cerenkov detectors in the PHENIX Experiment. The scaling of v(2) with the number of valence quarks (n(q)) has been studied in different centrality bins as a function of transverse momentum and transverse kinetic energy. A deviation from previously observed quark-number scaling is observed at large values of KET/n(q) in noncentral Au + Au collisions (20-60%), but this scaling remains valid in central collisions (0-10%).

Transverse momentum dependence of J/psi polarization at midrapidity in p plus p collisions at root s=200 GeV

We report the measurement of the transverse momentum dependence of inclusive J/{psi} polarization in p+p collisions at {radical}(s)=200 GeV performed by the PHENIX Experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The J/{psi} polarization is studied in the helicity, Gottfried-Jackson, and Collins-Soper frames for p{sub T}<5 GeV/c and |y|<0.35. The polarization in the helicity and Gottfried-Jackson frames is consistent with zero for all transverse momenta, with a slight (1.8 sigma) trend towards longitudinal polarization for transverse momenta above 2 GeV/c. No conclusion is allowed due to the limited acceptance in the Collins-Soper frame and the uncertainties of the current data. The results are compared to observations for other collision systems and center of mass energies and to different quarkonia production models.